ALL RELIGIONS: What is the most important thing that you look for in a presidential candidate?

Which is most important to you?

Their stance on foreign policy, abortion, gay marriage, religion, separation of church and state, public school systems, welfare, environmental issues, gun control, stem cell research, government funding, homeland security, stem cell research, a combination of these, or what?

Please state your answer, religion, and age.

I'm curious to know your opinions and if there is any pattern.

As for me, I'm most interested in issues like abortion, gay marriage, foreign aid, environmental issues, and separation of church and state. I would love to say foreign policy, but (it shames me to say this) I don't know enough about it to have any views on it.

I'm an agnostic atheist (yes, there is such a thing as one) and I'm fourteen.

hkyson: I call myself an agnostic atheist because I feel that "atheist" is too strong a word to encompass my beliefs. My beliefs are that of both agnosticism and atheism, but since I am more of an atheist than agnostic, I am agnostic atheist, not an atheist agnostic, etc. Thanks for your opinion, though.

I want to see candidate who is interested in and willing to do what's RIGHT even if it goes against what's popular or against special interests. I realize that politics is politics, so most likely no candidate is ever completely going to do what he or she thinks is right EVERY time, and will at times bow to certain special interests or popular opinion. A good sign to me that a candidate is his or her own person and does what he or she thinks is right instead of having it dictated to him or her, is if that candidate gets criticized by his or her own party or others which share his or her political alignment.

In this year's race, I see that on the Republican side McCain and Huckabee are good that way, both of them don't tow the party line on every issue and have received much criticism from other Republicans and conservatives. On the Democratic side, I felt John Edwards was the best in that sense, he received the most criticism for saying things and suggesting ideas that didn't fit the Democratic party line, and I felt he was his own person.

I wanted Edwards, but now that he's out, I'd be happy with any of the others EXCEPT Romney, who to me is a Republican party puppet like Bush was and is in bed with way more special interests than all the other candidates combined. Since I'm Democratic, I voted for Hillary in today's primary, and probably will vote for her in the general election (if she is nominated), but I will be happy with anyone except Romney. I do like Huckabee alas, because I'm a Christian and I believe he is a True and devout Christian who will do what pleases God over what pleases the Republicans....I'll still probably vote for Hillary though.

In this election, I'm looking for a candidate who will spend our tax money on US and not throwing it all at the mess in Iraq. Health care reform is the top issue to me, as well as the economy in general and tax reform. I think for Iraq any of the candidates (except Romney) will seek to resolve the situation without further unnecessary loss of lives and money...I think only Bush would keep that a mess because only he profits from it.

i seek out the most tolerant left wing liberal candidate running because there will never be one as liberal as me.

atheist, 29

The most important things are


Can this person keep the country from going down the toilet.
Can this person LEAD.
Will this person have our collective best interests first, last and always in every decision.

Those are the attributes I'm looking for.

The ability to do the job. ~atheist 26

abortion (for), gay marriage(for), religion(shouldnt matter), separation of church and state(should be seperated), public school systems(just dont take any money away), and homeland security(really crack down on illegal immigrants)

atheist, 16

As long as there is a holocaust in our nation we are one issue voters in this house. We vote pro-life. Christian, 39(estimated).

Most important issues:
Foreign policy, definitely. Separation of church and state very high up there. Environmentally friendly (realizing Global Warming as a threat is a bare minimum). Stem cell research/abortion also quite important. (Especially important as the next president will replace two Supreme Court Justices, and placement of pro-life nutjobs will just screw stuff up for the next 40 years at least.)
Also illegal immigration. A border fence should certainly be put up and those evading citizenship should not be here.

I'm a seventeen-year-old atheist (extremely pissed that I can't vote in the next election)

Honesty, knowledge, and integrity. The only one running this time that I think has these attributes is Ron Paul. Too bad his prospects aren't looking too good.

For me, I think that the most important thing that I look for is there religious background. I believe wholeheartedly that if a person is a strong Christian, then they will have the guidance from God to choose and make a good decision on other issues above. I think the thing to remember about Christians though, is that they are humans and they still do make mistakes, but I also believe that they make good decisions. I am a Christian, 24.

Demonstrating some level of intelligence is nice (which is one of many reasons I can't tolerate the present placeholder). Environmental issues, border control and separation of church and state are very important subjects, but I try to find their stance on each issue and determine who is a closest match to what I am looking for. Considering who is running, Hillary has my vote. (Who do ya think, Huckabee? PUHLEEZ.) Age 41, Pagan and practicing Witch.

I myself am an atheist. I have always thought that agnostics are really closeted atheists.

Agnostics hold that it is impossible to know whether God exists or not. This is logically possible, but I think that most agnostics really don't believe in God at all but feel that labeling themselves as agnostic makes them more socially acceptable.

I have no idea at all what an agnostic atheist or an agnostic theist could be.

Anyhow, I am glad that you are not enslaved to religious superstition.

Harleigh Kyson Jr.

those issues are all BS. The most important issue is the wallet. of course kids that live with mommy and daddy are pobably interested in the issues you state. they dont mean jack in the real world.

hykson you dont know shat about agnostics. they dont take a side. they say it is impossible to know. you cannot be an agnostic atheist. on one hand you are saying it cannot be known, on the other you are saying you know there is no god. take a choice.

44/ theist (xitan more or less)

the most important thing for me is economy and not someone's personal issue of abortion, religion and marriage! i want to see this country regain its wealth which bushy has been pouring down on afghanistand, iraq and israel.
i will be less concerned about homeland security since the mastermind dick cheney and his terrorist group will be leaving the office. hmm, illegals should be out though!
hmm, yes, saving the environment is important...and stem cell research should be made legal..there should be separation of church and state too and school system needs to be made better.

Me 22, Muslim

I am early 30's, female, Christian. I try NOT to pick a candiate based on his religion. Not only is it a really prejudiced way to pick a candidate, it is not a very smart one!

The questions I ask myself are these:

1 - Does this candidate have the ablility and experience to lead a country successfully, or doe s/he not have a clue?

2 - Will this candidate be a good ambassador to foreign nations, or will we be embarrased by him/her?

3 - Is this candidate a decent person who will stand for the betterment of society, or is this person a whack job who lets the media dictate his/her opinions?

Unfortunately, not a single candidate has passed all three questions for me in this election.

I try to find one that has the same views as I do on most of the important issues.

I want a candidate who is going to make the courts enforce the laws not make the laws.
Abortion should not have been a federal issue that should be left to the individual states.
Gay marriage should be left to the states even though I personally am against it.
Gun control is a non issue because penalizing the honest people is not going to keep guns out of the hands of the criminals.
Social Security should be privatized because what I paid into it I will never see. President Roosevelt even said it was meant to be only a temporary stop gap measure when he signed it into law.
There should be a balance between the environment and business. We can not continue to punish the companies that keep people working while trying to make dirt cleaner than God made it.
Welfare is just a legal form of slavery. If people get comfortable getting something for nothing then they can have their freedoms taken away without even realizing it.
Illegal immigration is another hot topic for me. If you want to live here and be a citizen then come in legally and learn the language.

Christian age 57

I think the most important quality of a presidential candidate is that they have a good brain and a sense of justice. A good brain most important to understand all the issues which crop up and a good knowledge of cultures of other countries is very important too - like someone with a World View not just their own country's view. I don't think religion matters as long as he/she is a thinking human being. Public expectations like gay marriage, abortion etc. well that is always evolving and a President hopefully is also Open-minded about all issues. I would have to say re religion that I am Agnostic at this stage and strongly believe in evolution of everything on this planet and if there is a God then he set everything in motion in an evolutionary way.

Religion has nothing to do with the ability to effectively run a country. That's why there exists a separation between church and state. If it did have something to do with the government than we'd find those citizens not of the same sect as the ruling power at a loss... One can see this in the former regime of Iraq... the Sunni's gained power of the majority Shias with the help of Saddam Hussein. After this Saddam began a terrible campaign against the losing sect and segregated them in something like Ghettos (Sadr City being one of great fame). He even expelled numerous Shias from government jobs...

Hi
I'm just answering to let you know I'm not that other
Johnny U.

Also,I'm a none voter.
I don't believe in a 2 party system.
I believe our presidents are predetermined.

Integrity first and foremost: no lying to the public for votes (remember Bush Sr. and "read my lips"?)

Independence from lobbyists, especially the oil companies
Foreign Policy
Economy
Environment
Social services: heathcare, welfare, etc
School system
Gun control
State-level control of gay marriages and support of the traditional family. Aberrant lifestyles should not dictate to the mainstream of society.

I'm a Christian and 50.

Thank God you are open to truth !!!

Foreign policy - America first !!!
Abortion - Don't kill the voiceless !!!
Gay marriage - An insult to God !!!
Religion - Non denominational christian !!!
Separation of church and state - Church not to dominate state [be over it] !!!
Public School systems - teach facts and competing theories !!!
Welfare - let the churches do their part - faith-based !!!
Environmental - It is easy for us to be fooled by 'experts' so we have to be wary !!!
Gun control - It is a constitutional issue !!! Our founding fathers did not want the government to run over us as they had done in europe !!!
Stem cell research - They have discovered that they can get some skin and culture all they want without fetis material !!!
Gov't funding - greatly needs control !!!
Homeland security - phone taps and profiling required !!!
Over 60 !!! Wish you well on your research !!!

http://www.carm.org/doctrine/100truths.h...

I don't vote because I believe that the only one who can successfully run this world, continent, and nation is God. Right now he is giving us a shot to try to govern our selves. So far, we are doing a pretty crappy job at it. I guess I pray that whoever is voted in doesn't get us all blown up in a nuc bomb or something. I am just patiently waiting for the end of the system of things to come,
jen 32, studying to be a jw

The most important thing I seek in a candidate is a willingness to defy corporate manipulation. Every other issue gets distorted by corporate money and influence. Big business looks at Washington and sees a cash cow to be gutted and drained, no matter whom it hurts.

My ideal candidate would commit to equal, public campaign financing, the elimination of corporate lobbying, no-bid contracting and stealth legislation, a government and its records as open and available as possible, the removal of legal-person status from all publically traded corporations that protects them from just reprisals, relentless prosecution of corporate lawbreakers, absolutely no government bailouts for industry-wide financial malfeasance, a 10-year prohibition on hiring former government regulators into or on behalf of a related industry, the end of subsidies to agro-business, and a suspension of all trade agreements that ignore labor and standard of living inequities. In short, I want someone who will do everything possible to get filthy corporate money out of government and return government to the people. All the other problems: the war, education, health care, unemployment, environment and infrastucture, would be cakewalks if we could just eject the corporate vampirism that infects all three branches of the federal government.

54, agnostic Catholic.