Because is actually not an answer

As you surely know by now, my mind has been largely dominated over the past year by the presidential race.  I have always been a bit of a political junkie, but perhaps now more than ever.  I have supported Senator Hillary Clinton essentially the entire time.  I hadn't made up my mind immediately, but by the time the race was in full swing - I knew she was the best person for the job - and I still think she is, and always will be regardless of what happens.

In talking to various people about the election and the candidates, I have come across people that say, "I wouldn't vote for Hillary, I don't like her."  Oh, ok - that's fair enough, I guess.  I would/will then generally follow up with, "Why don't you like her?"  A common response is, "I don't trust her."  Alright, and once again I say, "why?"  Only to be followed with something like, "I don't know, just because." 

Am I supposed to be satisfied with that answer?  Some might say that I should be.  They would say that If you don't trust or like a candidate then you shouldn't vote for him or her.  I understand that point.  But when we look at what it truly means to be an informed voter in the United States of America, to me, that means to know where the candidates stand on the issues and support the one that aligns best with your views.

When someone asks me why I don't support Senator Obama, I can answer with concrete factual statements about the issues.  Would you like to hear some?  Alright.  1) I don't think his health care plan is good enough.  It doesn't guarantee coverage for all Americans - not even close actually.  To me, this is not acceptable.  The country is ready to move towards universal health care, we have to have a president who has a plan to do so.   2) His foreign policy or lack their of is something I find a little frightening.  He is willing to have unilateral talks with anyone.  This is not smart - it is careless and any respected foreign policy scholar will say the same.  3) He has voted "present" hundreds of time.  This is a huge red flag to me.  Is he not able to take a stand on an issue?  Is he so focused on getting to the White House that rather than risking losing the support of voters over a decision he made, he just decides not to take a stance?  This is very disconcerting to me. 

I could go on, but that's not the point of this article.  My point is that I don't care if people aren't going to support Hillary (well that's not entirely true), that is certainly their choice.  I have a problem though when they don't have facts to back up their decision.  

"Because" just isn't good enough.