Voted Today...and Past Regrets

Late this afternoon I finally got out to my voting precinct to continue my long string of participation in elections.  In this one, there was an assortment of races, some of them being party primaries (for governor, state attorney general, U.S. House of Representatives, county commission) and some non-partisan (judges and school board).  Except for the governor's race, I was probably less informed and prepared for this voting then any others in several years.  I picked up very little to help me from my local newspaper, the Gainesville Sun (which is turning out to be only useful in my household for its coupons, sales papers, list of local upcoming events, and puzzles section).  Besides, in regard to the judge races, how am I, with no legal background, supposed to feel qualified to rate the jurisprudential abilities of the candidates...and does a sitting judge automatically merit my rubber-stamp vote just because he or she managed to avoid scandal?  I voted anyway, for sometimes even when I AM well informed, it is still a matter of guesswork to an extent.  Sometimes it happens that candidates I voted for get elected and cause me to later regret my support...but then again, that's what reelections are all about!

I began voting for U.S. President in the 1976 election and have voted in every one since, save the 1980 election when I waited too late to register here in Alachua County.  I regret having missed it, though.  But I haven't regretted many of my nine votes for President over the decades...actually, I only regret one: my vote for George W. Bush in 2000.  I supported him then largely on the basis of his reputation for pragmatism and reaching across party lines as the governor of Texas, something I erroneously felt he would continue doing as the President.  But, as I said before, that's what reelections are about, and I supported Bush's opponent, Mr. Kerry, four years later...I still feel good about my 2004 vote but not about that election's outcome...