Party Vs Candidate

As the presidential election creeps upon us, more and more people are discussing who they will vote for. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a trend among the average, everyday American of simply voting for the party rather than the candidate. What's wrong with this? Well, it is a much too easy and naive way to go about choosing a leader for our country. Simply voting for one's party is a simple alternative to actually reading about the candidates and listening to them. I went around to many people at school, both democrats and republicans, and asked why they were voting for who they were voting for. One person responded with McCain. I asked why and he said, "I really could not tell you. I honestly don't really follow politics, but I'm not voting for a democrat, I can tell you that." Many other people had similar responses, that they were simply voting for their candidate because they would never vote for the opposing party. It terrifies me that this represents a large portion of our population. Why should people who have no knowledge about the issues at hand be taking this responsibility upon themselves? I realize that America is a democracy and that everyone has the right to vote, but individuals that are going to affect everyone else in the country by voting need to be educated on the issues. Being educated on the issues in this election is very important considering the economic crisis we are in and the international dilemmas at hand. People who are not willing to learn about these problems should not take the privilege to vote. It is inherent for the common American to realize what is at stake and take the time to really care about his or her country.