Like many Americans, I’ve been glued to the television in recent weeks. While I’ve gotten my fair share of football and baseball in, most of my attention has been devoted to finding out which lucky presidential candidate will receive my vote. Thus far, I have been unimpressed both with President Bush and Senator Kerry — their constant bickering is driving me up a wall.

The night of the first presidential debate, I blew off a hot date that involved seeing "The Notebook" because I felt like I had a responsibility to make my vote count. It was a brilliant plan that became essentially useless roughly one hour into the debate.

Around question seven I realized why politics always have confused me. Kerry constantly was attacking Bush’s Iraq policy instead of telling viewers why he would make a good president. Bush spent too much time defending his personal image and not enough time explaining his political actions.

This lasted for the better part of an hour, at which point I lost interest and switched over to SportsCenter, determined to clear my head — except I knew it wouldn’t help.

I came out of that debate thinking that both men had an equal chance to be elected president, not because they did a better job than their competitor, but because each constantly shot himself in the foot. Recent polls have Bush and Kerry close enough to call the election a dead heat, and while competition is great for our capitalist-based economy, I know I’d sleep better at night knowing that my president won by 150 electoral votes instead of just 20. Spare me the suspense; I’ll take Reagan-Mondale over Bush-Gore any day.

Bush has long been criticized for the way he handled the Iraq situation and Kerry has long been accused of changing his stance on the same issue. Frankly, I don’t know which is worse, but deep down, the situation takes my skeptic view of politics and further skews it.

Now I know what everyone is thinking. I’m just a sports guy who doesn’t know what he’s talking about and I should go bury my face in a box score somewhere. However, my vote counts just as much as anyone else’s. It brings us back to the greatness of the American system. One person can change everything. If you don’t believe me, just ask the residents of Dade County, Fla.

In that regard, I am my own small swing state, and while I’d much rather spend my night watching Rachel McAdams, I know my vote is an important one. Short of writing in myself on The Breeze ticket, I, like so many on-the-fence voters, will be making a decision soon and it will help shape the outcome of this election.

With that in mind, I urge everyone to weigh both candidates carefully before voting and make an educated and conscious decision. We aren’t the future anymore; we are the present.

So who gets my vote? Easy, tiger, that’s between me and my absentee ballot.

James Irwin is a sophomore SMAD major.