What Is Up With Politics Today?

How could I not lead with that?  In case you were wondering that was a quote from Sarah Palin in her upcoming Esquire interview.  Really the entire thing makes her look like a media slut.  I’m obviously not all go Palin, but I don’t hate her either.  BUT, and of course there is a but….she needs to chill out.  I get that she doesn’t want to let go of the spotlight and that she wants to be top dog or queen bee or whatever but if she doesn’t let up she isn’t going to have a prayer of getting the Republican nomination in 2012 (and why in the name of God she would want to run against Obama again is totally beyond me but whatever).  Seriously if she doesn’t back off she’s not going to give people a chance to forget her…kind of like breaking up with your boyfriend.  You know they suck and you are breaking up with them for a reason but after a year or two you only remember the good things.  She needs to quit being the crazy exgirlfriend and let us forget the hideous interviews and remember only the charming bits.

Hush my little lefties it is my blog and if I want to say that a Republican winning an election is good news then I’m allowed.  While I don’t actually care overmuch who won that actual election I am happy that they’ve finally decided who the winner is.  I mean really it’s been a month, it’s about time.

Now before anyone spoils my happy moment complaining about a republican (you know who you are) just remember the happy news isn’t that he won it is that someone finally won.  Silver lining and all that…rainbow in the middle of the flood… 

I’ve been reading a lot about the possibility that Palin wants a national career in politics and that she is going to go through any “open doors” that she sees.  People are acting like (and she has alluded to the possibility) that she will run in 2012.

I think that would be a BIG mistake for her.  Why?  (and no lefties, you don’t get to jump in here and say b/c we don’t want a Barbie for president) I think it would be a mistake for her because Obama is still going to be rocking it.  I don’t see him getting outed in 2012 unless he screws up so royally that…yeah I just don’t think he’ll screw up that big, I don’t think he is capable of it.  Soooo running against him again would be career suicide.  She should wait till 2016.  She’ll be older and will have had plenty of time to learn everything she so obviously didn’t know when she got drafted at the last minute…her baby won’t be onstage at 11pm (I’m a mom and it ticked me off that she used him for a photo op instead of having that child in bed) and all of the crap that made her look like an idiot will be mostly forgotten.

So my prediction is that Palin is going to run for president again but if she is smart (and while it didn’t come off that way I think she probably is) she’ll wait till 2016. 

As I was flying to Orlando I was seated next to a very nice man.  He was my age +1, single with a serious girlfriend, lives in Ohio, and works as an engineer (civilian) with the Air Force designing planes.  He is a practicing Catholic and he likes classic rock, especially the Doors, and he was studying for a class in leadership that looked at how generals and presidents who ‘d been in  a crisis situation handled themselves.   (what can I say I like to listen to people talk about themselves).  Why does any of this matter?  Because we started talking about the election, of course.  He was dressed conservatively and I pegged him for Military (I was close)..but he was youngish and looked intelligent so I thought maybe he would be voting for Obama.

Nope.

He’s voting for McCain.  Well of course I had to ask why…his reason?  Because McCain is prolife.  What?  Really?  I asked him if that was the only reason and he said, yes.  It is more important to him to save the life of an ‘innocent’ than anything else and he felt McCain would be more likely to put people in the Supreme Court that felt the same way. (McCain wasn’t his favorite in the primaries but is better than Obama according to Mr. Engineer)  Wow.  I was shocked.  We talked theology and politics for the rest of the flight and he wasn’t stupid…he had well thought out reasons for what he believed, which I respect.  I wasn’t able to trap him with logic or scripture…he wasn’t just spouting bullshit but had thought it all out. 

I was impressed.  I didn’t agree (obviously) but it is nice to know that some McCain supporters have good reasons other than the scare tactics that camp has been blowing or random fear.  *of course I would prefer if they would look at the larger picture but…at least it is a real reason and something he feels strongly about and he wasn’t at all negative about Obama just very sure about what he believed*

So for any of you wondering if there are logical and thoughtful people voting for the McCain camp, the answer is yes.  You (we) probably just don’t agree with them

Tomorrow is the day we’ve all been waiting for (for what feels like a very long time).  While I usually say I don’t care who anyone votes for as long as they do vote I want to amend that today.  I want you to not vote for McCain.  If you are in a battleground state, please vote for Obama.  If you are in a state that Obama can’t lose or can’t win vote for Barr and make a statement to our Republican leaders that we want them to change (because everyone will see a Barr vote as a vote McCain lost).  If you read my blog on a regular basis you already know I voted for Obama but that my heart (and policy beliefs) are with Barr.  If you can’t bring yourself to vote for Obama please consider voting for Barr instead of McCain.  I really believe that Barr represents many of the things that most McCain voters believe in.  Please, please, please, vote…for Obama …or Barr

PS

I’ll be back live tomorrow as well, for any who have missed me

I have been fighting with myself for the last several days about who to vote for.  I know I said I decided I was going to vote for Barr but as I’ve been out and about I’ve been talking to different people (You’ll be shocked I’m sure but I love to talk to people and I swear I could strike up a conversation with a deaf mute) anywho everyone I talked to was voting for McCain.  Everyone. 

As you all know I live in Florida, a ‘battleground’ state that now has a chance to go either way.  Usually Florida goes Republican so voting for Barr would have been a symbolic vote for me.  (I’ve decided I am straight down Libertarian and have never voted Democrat in any major election) BUT….I don’t want McCain to win.  I don’t even want him to win a little bit as a matter of fact I want him to LOSE.  After a lot of thought I realized that if I voted for Barr and McCain won it would be partially my fault (on the flip side if I vote for Obama and he is the socialist lefty that I fear I’m screwed and I just sold my sold my soul to the devil) but ultimately there were several things I do like about Obama and so I played my ‘you have to choose’ game and decided that if I had to choose between just Obama and McCain I’d choose Obama.

So….I voted for Obama. 

Now I’m going to have to make up for it by becoming rabidly libertarian for the next four years

PS

I’m sorry Bob

Electoral College

First some background.  An absurd number of people have no idea what the electoral college is or how it works so I’ll start there. 

Now if that was to boring or technical for you here is a more amusing explanation :) 

So why do we still use the electoral college instead of the popular vote?

No, really.  According to CNN a group has counted all of the jokes made about either the dems or the pubs in the last five weeks (since Palin was put on the ticket) on late night television…the results?   286 jokes about McCain and Palin and 42 about Obama and Biden.   You can watch the experts talk about the reasons here.

I suppose that there is the perspective that any media coverage is good media coverage but really….McCain and Palin being a made into a joke on the late night talk shows is going to hurt them on November 4^th.  Why? Because who’s going to vote for someone who is already the punch line?  We shouldn’t have that much material on someone in the executive office till they’ve been there for a few years.  I think is just another nail in the coffin of the republican ticket. 

So for all of you who were thinking about voting for McCain instead of Barr because Barr doesn’t have a chance.  Think about it this way….McCain doesn’t have a chance either so you might as well send a message to the government and vote for Barr

PS

I will be able to find out with the rest of you who Powell endorses because I can’t walk or drive due to an unavoidable collision with the ground earlier today.  Silver lining and all that.

If you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em.  Palin is going to be on Saturday Night Live this weekend after the show has repeatedly made fun of her (with great success and a boost to ratings).  McCain is on Letterman tonight groveling for ditching him a few weeks ago.  Ever since Letterman was stood up at the camera he’s been picking on McCain relentlessly.

Apparently the McCain advisors have decided to make the funny part of their campaign.  More power to them.  It’s almost always true that it’s harder for others to make fun of you if you are busy making fun of yourself. 

This isn’t a campaign it’s a circus …but that’s ok because I like the circus

He is losing, he is getting angry, and he is getting off topic.  He has stopped being the ‘maverick’ and become more of a politician saying things I think he is probably not proud of.  I really don’t think he has a chance of winning and he needs to step down.  It’s the how that would be important.

He should say this race has become nothing but  fodder for SNL and that he wants what is best for the country.  He should go on to say that Obama is not what this country needs and then throw his support behind Barr.  After that one statement he should get out of the way.  Barr could be put in the debate in McCain’s place and everyone could stop focusing on how tired, old, bitter, and angry McCain is and how laughable Palin has a tendency to be and could focus, for a change, on the issues.