I read this essay when it first appeared in 1992. I have to confess the distinction between voting for a candidate and rooting for which side you hoped would win seemed and still seems like the most natural distinction in the world. I really wish it would re-enter the rather degraded Christian discourse I’ve witnessed over the last couple of months:
Whom should we cheer for on Election Day? Whom should we hope wins the election? Voting is a matter of personal conscience, and can be for one of many minor candidates or for no one at all; rooting on who should win is a different problem, because regardless of who you or I vote for, or whether we vote at all, one of the two major candidates is sure to win in November.
via Race for the White House, 2012: Whom to Root For? by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com.
As I’ve said before, you vote for who you want as long as he is not the (most) evil candidate. You hope one side or the other wins. Those are two completely different issues.
