Jim Wilkinson, business owner, Mercedes TX (Republican)

Issue One: National Security. Who is best suited to command our military? McCain has a strong military background while Obama has never donned a uniform. Obama lacks any degree of military expertise; he continues to demonstrate contempt for our the fighting men of this country. Failing to credit our military with success in the recent surge in Iraq is but one example.

Issue Two: Illegal immigration. Both candidates seem to cast a blind eye to the enormous monetary impact that illegals inflict on our nation. I emphasize ILLEGAL. Politicans and their pundants purposely confuse ILLEGAL with LEGAL. ILLEGALS owe no allegiance to this country whatsoever and live here accordingly.

Issue Three: Taxes and the economy. A socialist/Marxist-Obama Presidency would be disastrous. Government does not produce wealth; individuals do. No nation has ever increased its productivity by raising taxes on their citizens or, as Obama says, "spreading the wealth around." The function of government is NOT the redistribution of individual wealth. Socialism stifles individual productivity and destroys initiative.

Ernesto Haibi,U.S. Army medic, Copperas Cove (Independent)

First off for me would be the war in Iraq and how we need to shift back to Afghanistan. I live this war everyday and I need to see us rededicate ourselves to avenging 9/11 and not Daddy Bush.

Second would be the economy. It, right now, is the single factor that decides if I get out of the Army in 2011 or not. I can easily say that I'm scared of another term of Bush policies and $5.00 a gallon gas.

Finally, which president is going to take us to the future. Which one will encourage the technology of the next century, not just polish and grease up the old. We need a radical change in education, business, and technological development. We need to damn near force change onto those who insist on holding onto the old world.

Alexander Stone Dale, former cab driver, Manhattan NY (Republican)

Former defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld once said, “Weakness is provocative.”

As much as Senator Obama’s global sycophants seem to think that the election of a President Obama would so thoroughly expunge the world of guilt that all would be inspired to beat their swords into plowshares – there are those of us who see a world where human rottweilers would view Obama’s election as the roast beef being left unattended on the easily reachable dining room table.

There is also the question of whether Barack Obama believes his own press clippings. Naïve leaders tend to either go passive when their worldview proves incapable of resisting the inevitable challenge or even worse - overreact all out of proportion.

For all the criticism President George W. Bush has had to weather; he was neither impotently content to just wring his hands grieving over September 11 nor did he haul off and nuke Mecca in an effort to show the world he was a man.

Like a modern day Guy of Lusignan, would a President Barack Obama overreact if he felt he had something to prove?

Linda Sharp, parenting writer, Austin TX (Independent)

Health care takes spot #1 with me. In the past month, we have almost single-handedly kept the Urgent Care center in our town in business. With two daughters who play competitive soccer, the physical stakes are high. Our middle daughter has now been x-rayed 12 times since September. The first round for a possible broken toe which placed her in a non-weight bearing boot for a week.

The second was this past week, when she took a hard fall on her arm while training and we feared not only a broken elbow, but wrist as well. Each time, I thanked God for the stellar health insurance we have through my husband's employment. I paid $15 each visit, and all was covered. The doctor, the x-rays, the medical devices (which we are collecting at a rapid rate.)

And last night, we once again went straight from the fields to Urgent Care with my youngest daughter. A hard tackle during a scrimmage left her unable to walk - we feared a broken foot. Three x-rays later, those fears were allayed, however she is now hobbling around on crutches.

Again, $15 and off we went.

I cannot begin to imagine the panic that sets in for a family who confronts an unexpected injury and does not have a pretty little plastic card with important numbers on it at their disposal. In this economy, a single visit to the Urgent Care center could mean no fuel in the gas tank, no food on the table for the week. Something larger and a family could lose their home.

The second issue for me is broader. I am supporting Obama because the reproductive rights of a woman simply do not matter to McCain and Palin. I do not want my body, or the bodies of my daughter, legislated. Choices matter. And McCain & Palin would take them away. 'Nuff said.

Third, and this is not so much an issue as it is a mindset, I cannot support McCain because all he wants to do is fight. It oozes from his pores, his speeches are riddled with bravado and "bring it on" imagery.

This country has had a cowboy in charge for far too long, we do not need a maverick. This country needs a president who knows how to NOT fight, who is not trigger-happy. A president who is measured, calm, reasoned, resourceful. That is not McCain.

I have already voted (we can vote early) and I can tell you my three main issues:

(1) CHANGE--we can't have four more years of the last eight.

(2) Health Care: we need to cover everyone and make it more affordable.

(3) Alternative energy development (not drilling in ANWR) and environmental policy.