My First Presidential Election...

So, after managing to confirm last night that I was indeed registered to vote (KY was pulling some sneaky BS and not sending out confirmation cards), I arranged to vote today. It was the first time I had ever voted and I was sincerely torn. While I would, idealistically, like to vote for a third party candidate...I am terrified that Bush will be re-elected. And so, I voted straight-party Democrat (as Democrat is really the lesser of two evils in state politics here) and voted for city coucil. I also voted against the Civil Unions Amendment (I realize everyone else in the state calls it the Gay Marriage Amendment, but that is entirely not what the amendment is about or does). In a way it was extremely exciting and quite a bit of a let down. I remember my first mock election in the fourth grade....I voted for Ross Perot. Now, I voted for Kerry. It didn't feel any more real. I wanted some sort of patriotic band or something...not a room full of tired, irritated people standing in line for the few voting booths. I also think that voting is something that needs to be taught in school. Students need to have mock elections down to the mock registrations so that they understand how it works and the things they need to be on the look out for. You can't expect people to make responsible decisions and have responsible actions if no one's ever taught them how.