Politics

So I only caught part of the Presidential Debates last night… and some of the Talking Heads afterwards. From what I can gather, absolutely nothing new was said, so I doubt I missed much. I find it rather funny, though, that both parties seem to think their candidate completely slam dunked the debate.

The Democratic Candidate

Ah well, I knew the proceedings weren’t going to alter my decision in the slightest anyway, no matter how they turned out. I could wish for a different Democratic candidate. Not that I don’t like Kerry… I honestly don’t think he’s as big of a “flip-flopper” as the other side loves to paint him. The dood just pontificates entirely too much (yes, I know... pot calling the kettle black, but I'm NOT in politics), so I can see how it would be difficult for folks to follow his position on some things. I don’t have any problem at all recognizing the nuances of his outlook. I agree with most of it, and personally appreciate nuance over stubbornness.

However, for the sake of bringing over an Undecided chunk of the population, I think there could be a better candidate… one with less controversy (I swear, I am so sick of hearing about Viet Nam), one who could possibly lean more towards the Moderate side of Liberal, and one who could deliver a more concise message.

Not that I have a problem with any of these things, myself. As far as I’m concerned, controversy is sensationalism… and in elections, it’s pure diversionary tactics. I could seriously give a rat’s ass about EITHER candidate’s military service (or lack thereof) 30 years ago. And, being a pretty solid Liberal, myself, I can’t very well have a problem with a Liberal candidate. But for the sake of removing a President I SERIOUSLY don’t like, who has NOT represented my beliefs or my choices, there’s more than my own impression at stake.

The Republican Candidate

Yeah, I can be considered part of the “Anybody But Bush” camp. I voted against him in the last election, but mostly for the sake of party loyalty… I really had no opinion one way or the other about either candidate. He didn’t start to bug me until 9/11… spouting religions convictions, in perfect counterpoint to the terrorists spouting THEIR religious convictions. But at that point, it was mostly still just an annoyance. I applauded his actions in Afghanistan, and agreed with him when he said we had to keep fighting against the terrorists.

Then came the Iraq War… I was dead set against a pre-emptive war from the very beginning. And at every step of the process, I disliked our Commander in Chief and his decisions more and more. Add onto that his far right wing policies (I don’t begrudge a guy his religions convictions, but keep em out of law and politics), his hindrance of environmental progress, and lamentable handling of the economy (I can’t blame him for the devastation that 9/11 wreaked upon our country and economy, but his “solution” to the problem has fallen short… and his utilization of monetary resources has left much to be desired) and I get a very unsatisfying picture.

Uncertain Future

In short, unless his opponent were a complete incompetent (which I do not consider Kerry to be), I’d much rather just about anybody else be in office. Preferably a Democrat… if for nothing else than to break up the Republican grip on all three branches of the government. I swear, that fact makes me seriously uneasy. I dunno if Kerry will live up to the job… if he’ll be able to fix any of the numerous problems facing our country at the moment, any better than Bush can. But I like his ideas on how to go about doing so, and I’m all for giving him a chance to prove himself. All I know for certain is that Bush has proven to be precisely what I DON’T want.

Amway, that’s my take on the matter. I honestly dunno if Kerry will win. Last time I checked, the estimated electoral vote had a pretty good margin in Bush’s favor, and we all know that’s the real decision maker. However, you can count on my li’l ass bein at the polls on November 2, though it most probly won’t count for much in this strongly Republican state.

But hey… I’ll have a right to bitch for the next four years. :)