It is not unusual for there to be differences between political adversaries.  After all, isn’t that the essence of the election…giving the electorate the opportunity to choose their path? 

From day one we knew President Obama wanted universal healthcare; we knew he supported gay rights.  We knew he believed in taking care of the least of us; we knew he believed in equal pay for equal work.  We knew he wanted immigration law reform; we knew he wanted more collaboration in foreign policy.  We knew he his father was from Africa and his mother and grandmother raised him.  We knew he was a community worker before his political undertakings and did not have a wealth of experience in foreign affairs or business.  He didn’t pretend he had more experience—he just came with seemingly good thought processes and a good heart.  And, we knew he was pretty damn smart.  And as they got in and found the country was in more trouble than they thought, the administration has been pretty forthcoming about that as well. 

I find myself extremely disturbed by the reluctance to share of the Romneys…until very recently they didn’t even embrace their religion lifelong religion.  They don’t want to discuss their anti-gay or their pro-life stance (and, for the life of me, I don’t understand the reasoning for their flight on these issues); they don’t want to disclose their tax returns (big red flag).  They don’t want to talk about Massachusetts (another, big red flag) and have been pretty foggy on Romney’s actual work at Bain Capital (hmmm).  This morning I watched Paul Ryan run from his vote on the deal tying the automatic decrease of the defense bill into debt ceiling agreement.  And, the fast talking he did to explain every question was so disheartening.   Flight from their agenda is their calling card. 

So, it is not the things that they stand for that I find most troubling—it is truly their flight from these issues.  I understand that there are some people who are not pro-choice and that there are some that will never be supportive of gay marriage.  If this election is truly only about the economy then what difference will sharing those other things matter?  Most people who hold beliefs are more than willing to be honest and upfront about where they stand.  They are not willing to compromise their beliefs for politics.  As a matter of fact, their beliefs are their politics. 

As a voter, is it asking too much to ask our candidates to share who they really are and allow us to make a choice?