Should I vote my heart or my head? - The Undecided Voter Project (sitios de interés)

I am a christian who has voted overwhelmingly Republican going back to my first presidential vote cast in '76. My conservative values: individual opportunity/responsibility/accountability, the sanctity of human life, small government, unregulation of religious practice, crime-free streets, stewardship (not ownership) of the earth's resources, and that government should stay out of people's way and only provide a safety net for only those who legitimately cannot make their way in the world, all these mean a lot to me. However, events beginning with 9/11, through to today's economic crisis, and how the present Republican administration has managed the affairs of state, have left me seriously considering a vote for Obama, which would be my very first ever for a Democrat. I am embarrassed and somewhat ashamed of how President Bush's people have squandered and sometimes trashed the goodwill and unity that occurred in this country after the 9/11 attacks. I was shocked by the politically motivated firings of the US Attorneys in the Justice Dept. I was dismayed that the administration seemed to turn up its nose to the opinions of the world community, both before and after the 9/11 attacks. On paper, McCain seems to be the perfect candidate for me, an independent conservative, committed to reducing corruption and waste in the Federal government, taking the fight to the murderous enemies of Freedom overseas, and standing up for the rights of the unborn. Yet his demeanor as shown in the debates, the terrible negativity of the campaign he has allowed to be fought on his behalf, and the seemingly knee-jerk selection of a sharp but world-naive Sarah Palin as his running mate have caused me to question his temperament and judgement in terms of leading this great country out of the grave economic, political, and security challenges that it faces. Even though McCain has been very independent in his Senate career, if he's elected, after he's sworn in, can he thumb his nose at the very entrenched right-wing Republican apparatus that elected him while attempting to get something done in Washington? I think not. He will end up being beholden to the very lobbyists he has railed against the last 20 years. On the other hand, how can I cast a vote for Obama? This is a man that, for all his erudition, charm, sincerity and intellect, still is arguably one of the most liberal Senators ever, one who believes that Government should be more involved in people's lives, and one who may further damage the rights of the unborn, as if they weren't tenuous enough. If I end up becoming a true Obamacon, it will be because sometime within the next two weeks, I will have become convinced that Obama has the capacity to bring a greater measure of unity to this country than the election of his opponent, and that this potential for unity in the electorate more than balances out the moral hazards that would be expected by electing a Democratic president. It will be because, with an eye toward getting this country on a road out of our present economic and international struggles, I dare to hope that moving toward a greater measure unity in our country will do more to heal it than insisting on the implementation of the conservative values I have always espoused. Does this sound like I am selling out and abandoning those values? Maybe to many it will. But I see it more as a realization that these values that I hold so dear cannot (despite the Pat Robertsons of the world) be forced upon the electorate through political activity and elections. People have to win other people over to these values by the way they live their lives. And in this divisively poisoned political climate, that is very hard to do . If we can get people in this country talking to one another again in a respectful and genial manner, instead of shouting at eachother in knee-jerk reaction to our fears about the other's percieved beliefs, I think that the free and fair exchange of ideas will ultimately favor conservative and libertarian values.