The Day After

I am not usually one to wax political. I have little interest in politics, quite frankly. I hate the mud slinging and the tongue wagging. I hate self-serving politicians and lobbyists. I hate that the minority is always more vocal than the majority and usually get their screwed-up way just because they yell louder. I'm, by nature, very conservative but I don't always vote Republican. I try to follow the issues and make informed decisions but most of the time I don't watch T.V. on election night. I'll just see who won in the morning. (I do that with most sporting events, too. Sorry. We all have our interests.)

This year has been one of the longest of my life. I am SICK TO DEATH of political ads and campaigns and emails and signs. I was elated this morning just to be able to say "it's over". Unfortunately, the next presidential election will start sometime next February.

It just goes on tooooooooo long. I think we should pass a law in this country that says this:

If you want to run for public office you may not start campaigning until 3 months before the voting booths close.

You may not comment on anything any other political officer has done or said. Just tell us what you do and say. Tell us what you stand for.

If you cannot answer a question directly and honestly, you must shut up. Yes, or no, will do just fine.

If you take money for your campaign and you loose, you must give it all back. Okay, just kidding on that one. But, really, there should be a law that says if you raise more than 2 million dollars for your campaign you must give half of what you raise to a good cause.

I'm not going to say who I voted for. Frankly, it's no ones business. I didn't even tell Hubb. And he didn't tell me who he voted for either. I know both of us changed our minds more than once and both of us were unhappy with all the choices. I don't think the Founding Fathers ever had a two party system in mind, but here we are. It's a shame that a vote for any other party essentially equals a vote against the conservatives. It's a bigger shame that some people don't vote at all. I say if you don't vote you don't get to complain. Ever! This year, I think I may have voted just so I could keep my gritching rights. Sad.

I congratulate Senator McCain on a dignified loss. I thought his concession speech (the parts I heard on the news later) was great. I think Senator McCain is a good man. I don't agree with everything he has to say or his policies or choices. But I respect him and his desires for the country.

I congratulate Senator, and President Elect, Obama on a historic win. It is a remarkable thing to see a black man (well, half black, or less, really) be elected to the White House. I don't agree with all of his policies or choices, either. But I hope he will do good things for the country. I hope he will survive the assassination attempts! I hope his election will signal an end to racisim and discrimination in America. I hope from this point on that we will not have a need to discuss race at all. I hope we can really get down to the buisness of being equal. The pendulum can now start swinging back the other direction and stop in the middle. Let's just be people, shall we? Americans.

Now, for the first time in about a year, I am going to go to bed and not worry about who I will vote for. I'm glad that is over!