What issues matter to you most going into 2008?

[Ban my account ffs!]

What economic issue matters most to you?
What social issue matters to you most?

Economic: Long term energy.  While health care, education, and social security, as well as quality of life are all very important to me, nothing can move forward without a secure, sustainable source of energy to draw from in the future.  While I understand there must be an ideal to have 100% renewable resources as soon as possible, I cannot leave out other power sources like hydro-electric or nuclear power.  We are in the phase where we should be expanding nuclear, wind, and solar while researching other potential sources as well as improving current sources to become more efficient.  For transportation, hydrogen, ethanol, and electric need to be researched and improved upon so that we can move away from hydrocarbons.

Social:  No one issue really stands out, so I will say individual freedom.  Our country has been hijacked by a group of narrow-minded, if well intentioned fundamentalist Christians that believe a top-down approach to morality is necessary for the country to thrive.  I am completely at odds to this approach.  I believe "morality" is a relative term, and that choices regarding morality are best left up to the individual with laws governing only those actions that can harm others.

You cannot force patriotism or religion upon somebody, as that person will simply revolt and you will never see them become religious or patriotic again.  I believe that "to each his own" is a good policy when it comes to individual social choices.  Some like nothing better than a good set of rules and regulations to follow, and we have the freedom to follow that lifestyle, but we cannot expect everybody to live that way.  We are a free country, and the most basic tenets of true freedom come first with individual liberties.