Politically Pooped Out

Are you as tired of this election as I am?

I have stopped watching TV because I don't want to see the ads. I can't stand the smears, the attacks, the fear-mongering, the horrible warnings that doom is nigh.

Blech.

I have stopped commenting on some of the blogs I normally read because they've turned too political. I don't care about the cost of clothing or lobster dinners or who said what when where and how because none of that, not one little tiny iota of it, matters. Smoke and mirrors.

You will notice I have not mentioned a party. That's because I hold them both to blame. I dislike negative campaigns and campaign messages. Although I will say I see the negativity coming more out of the McCain camp. Obama has had a few positive commercials; they are always a relief.

I want to know what the person who wants my vote will do. I don't particularly care what he thinks his opponent will do. I can figure that out for myself, thank you very much. So positive messages always get my attention while the negative ones simply turn me off.

The negativity has corroded this campaign to the point where I am looking at alternative candidates.

I am Miss American Moderate, and frankly neither one of these candidates meets my criteria for president. They both have their faults and they are pretty big faults in my mind. One comes a little closer than the other to being somewhat what I think I want in a president, and I lean in that direction. But the margin is so thin that a good third party candidate could send me sliding along without too much trouble.

Of course there isn't such a candidate, not in this media-led world. Not when the media wouldn't let a good third party candidate through, wouldn't give them the time of day, wouldn't move to make it a fair playing ground for someone not of their choosing.

I want a discussion about things that really matter, not emotional hot-button issues that in the long run have nothing to do with anything.

Some of the topics that need to be discussed are education, health care, jobs and job security, and care for the elderly. Those are issues that matter a great deal to me. There is not enough talk about any of them.

I don't care what religion someone is. I don't care what color they are. I don't care about his suit or her shoes or who said what when talking "off the cuff." I don't care if they are pro or anti or if they want to cut or raise my taxes. None of that matters to me. Those are all scare issues, big bad boogies used to make people think with their emotions and not use the logical part of their brain.

I don't worry about national security, either. We will always have an army and we already have enough stuff to completely destroy the world if we want. What more do we need?

What does matter? What do I want in a president?

Intelligence. I want someone who is smarter than most everyone, including myself. If I think I can beat that person in chess then he or she has no business running for president. I want someone super sharp. MENSA material.

Affability. I want someone who knows how to handle people, from the very rich to the very poor. Someone who has compassion and empathy and the ability to make decisions based on the best information.

Class. I want someone who can meet with the best the world has to offer. Someone who doesn't throw up in the Japanese emperor's lap or faint or hug the German prime minister or squeeze the boob on the queen or feel up Josephine Sixpack. Someone who knows why there are two forks on the table and how to handle his or her soup spoon. Someone who knows the difference between a Monet and the black velvet painting of the dogs playing poker and has an appreciation for both.

Listening ability. I want someone who will listen. Someone who will listen not only to his or her advisers but also to the public. Someone who will hear and understand the issues that you and you and I face every day. Someone who will hear and then act with dignity, intelligence and compassion.

*Independent. I want someone who has the strength to break away from the corporations and the lobbyists. Someone who is beholden to no one and nothing except the U.S. Constitution.

*Respects my Civil Rights. That includes not listening in on my phone calls or reading my emails.


I honestly don't understand this need to have someone in office who is "just like me." I don't think I could run the country so why would I want someone just like me making the effort?

I want only the very best running this country. The best president and the best in Congress. Not the person who best pushes my emotional hot buttons but the person who will best ensure that the playing ground is fair and even and that those who are in need have a little bit of a helping hand because one day that person in need could be you or you or me or your mother or my father.

I want the highest office in the land to be held by a person who thinks things through and comes up with the best solution to the problem, not the most partisan solution to the issue.

I would elect Jesus but he isn't running. I don't think he could get on the ballot in this country anyway.

My disenchantment is such that I may not even vote for president. I might just let that one go unmarked.

This will be my only rant on the elections, so feel free to come back tomorrow for the regular farm and freelancing stuff.

I just had to get that off my chest.


*I added these about 8 hours later, after sleeping on it and realizing I hadn't put them in.