Listen, pray vote

In just over a month we will be having a very important election. I am one who is an example that the Village does not vote party lines, but the Village votes for the person who best represents our interest. I do not endorse either candidate, but strongly recommend that you vote for the candidate of your choice.

This is a very highly charged election because of the controversy of election 2000. It is important that every eligible voter in the Village -- and by that, I mean black Americans -- be registered to vote. Your voice needs to be heard at the ballot box.

I am very disturbed because of the mudslinging and character assasination that is happening on both sides. This is too important of an election to be distracted by this "mess."

First, it was Sen. John Kerry's military record. There were several discrepancies as to what eyewitnesses saw and no one was prepared to accept the official military record of what happened on that day. We were inundated with a barrage of accounts that have nothing to do with the issues at hand.

Recently, the spotlight has been on President George W. Bush's military record. Once again, we have refused to look at the official military documents and move on. CBS, for weeks, stood behind a story whose evidence was shaky at best while the real issues have been ignored.

There will be three debates forthcoming. The focus of this election should be on the issues such as jobs, the economy and the war. I am asking the Village to not pay attention to these distractions but to listen carefully to each candidate, examine their record and ask yourself the question: where do we want this country to be in four years and who is the man who can take us there?

Let's not allow things that happened 30 plus years ago to cloud our present day situation. Listen, pray and then vote.