On September 22, I lingered in my hotel in Jackson, TN to hear former President Clinton on The View. Clinton is making the rounds of the major talk shows and making the case for why he thinks Senator Obama will win the Presidential election. On The View, he made some comments regarding how people make up their minds about who to vote for. Clinton noted that voting decisions were intensely personal and he would not try to change how people made their decisions.

I disagree. That's like saying if you see someone wearing a tuxedo with white socks you shouldn't tell them their dress is inappropriate. I think people need to seriously consider how they make their voting decisions. If you want to become a more highly effective individual, then I recommend you read Seven Habbits of Highly Effective People. If you want to become highly effective in your personal financial life, then I recommend you read Total Money Makeover. If you want to become a highly effective voter and citizen, then I recommend you read my book, Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be.

Recognizing, however, that time is short and you may not have time to read a book, we have written this 8 page White Paper specifically for the 2008 Election. What follows here is a sample of the paper. At the end of the sample is a link taking you to our web site where you can purchase the White Paper and have it mailed to you. If you would prefer to get it by email, then place your order and then email customerservice@KindredMindsEnt.com. We'll be happy to comply with your request.

Here's the sample.

                    Top Ten Tips for Nonpartisan Independent Voters
                    A White Paper from TheCenterStrikesBack.com

If you’re a voter who is dissatisfied with how things are going in the country, ask yourself this. What are you doing differently this time to make your voting choice? If your answer is “Nothing,” then remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result.

Many people regard politics as if it were a super complex math problem. If you’re one of those people, you may seek the counsel of someone you trust and ask them who and what to vote for instead of making your own decision. Even if you have some understanding of politics, the charges and counter-charges between the candidates can be bewildering.

So, if you’re a voter looking for a better approach to choosing candidates or count yourself among the bewildered, then this White Paper will serve both as a guide for you and an open letter to the candidates trying to get your vote.

Politically, it’s crunch time. If you wanted to have a wide choice in candidates, then your time is past. Third Party candidates are available, but our current voting system results in a spoiler scenario that leaves us as undecided and divided as ever.  (A spoiler scenario is when you consider voting for a third party candidate, but realize doing so will split your usual party’s vote, resulting in another party winning the election.) I hope to eventually persuade Americans to overcome the spoiler scenario by changing their political and electoral processes. Unfortunately, the 2008 reality is we must make our choices within the way political business is being done now and from among the candidates who have been chosen to run.

For the moderate centrist and/or independent voter, the same issues emerge. How do you choose between the lesser of two evils and cast your vote to have the most influence? I would suggest you begin with the following ten tips or guidelines. These are all written with the still undecided nonpartisan, independent voter in mind, but partisan voters will find insights for appealing to nonpartisan independents. Here are the ten.

Let’s look at these points in detail and then apply them to this election.

            Blind Loyalty is Blind Stupidity

I may be loyal to a sports team and see the competition through their eyes. That does not mean I am blind to their shortcomings. I will not continue to support a team failing to show common sense towards becoming a champion. You should take the same approach to political parties and candidates. Can a political party count on your vote no matter how poor their performance? If so, you may be guilty of blind loyalty.

            Consider All Three P’s

Many voters seem to believe we chose the wrong person in the last election and if we just choose the right one this time, then everything will be all right. This belief has some truth, but overall it’s too shallow. When you pick a candidate, you are picking not just the Person; you are also choosing their Party and their collective Philosophy. So you must have a way to evaluate the Person, their Party and their Philosophy. The rest of the guidelines will help you do that.

Developing your personal political philosophy is a prime focus of my book, Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be. While I hope you eventually read that book, I also know you may not have time to do so before the election. For now, think of political philosophy as you would the basic operating software on a computer (Windows XP, Vista, etc.). Would you hire a programmer whose experience is in a buggy operating software causing frequent crashes of your computer, especially if that programmer intends to continue running the same buggy software? Or would you be more in favor of hiring a programmer with the ability to debug or replace your operating system software with a better and proven operating system (philosophy)?  Results will not improve until you replace (or de-bug) the operating software and the individual who does the programming.

            It’s Nothing Personal, It’s Just Business.

Don’t think in terms of who to vote for. Think in terms of being a parent making a disciplinary decision or a business owner deciding about hiring or firing a supplier.

            Do Not Reward Bad Behavior

Assume you’re the parent of a teenager with poor discipline, a sassy mouth, probable drug use and lackluster academic performance problems. Such a child should not be given a new car when they reach driving age. That rewards bad behavior. You get more of the behavior you reward. To change behavior, you must give an incentive for change.

Think of your voting decision in the terms you would as an employer:
 
             Has the supplier you hired performed well enough to earn their bonus?
             Has the supplier you hired performed well enough to deserve being re-hired?
             Will a new supplier offer better performance than you’re getting now?

Politically, I suggest you answer those questions by substituting the words politician, party or candidate for supplier and looking at three general areas. Those areas are social tolerance, fiscal responsibility, and performance within the bounds of limited government that still yields the most robust national defense possible.

The remainder of this White Paper is available at the following link:

http://www.kindredmindsent.com/InsideTheBook/order.asp