In the 2000 presidential election, I voted in my first presidential election, and as a newly minted member of the U.S. Air Force, was very happy to see President Bush elected. And in the time before facebook and blogs, I e-mailed news articles to friends, often with my commentary, almost always with a conservative slant. So when I say that I have shifted to the left, that should be considered relative. I am pro-life and believe in smaller, smarter government, but after that, I tend to favor if not progressive policies, certainly a lot of progressive values that I see reflected in scripture.