I like this election a lot more than the last one. It's not just that we are winning: I like it because we're not winning because of any one person in particular. Instead, we're winning because the other team really sucks, and our team is obviously a lot better.
Kerry was fine. I even liked him better than the other candidates in the primary. But collectively, I like the several hundred Democrats that are running in 2006 much better than I like just Kerry. That was the bad thing about 2004 -- just Kerry, or just Bush -- pick one. I hate that kind of politics. I don't like personalities. I just want to see some good judgment and a bunch of people who are willing to get on with the work of running a government.
I think I am in the minority because I don't like heroes. I'd like a president that's like a high school principal. He can speak occasionally when we all get together, wander the halls if he wants, and be really important on days that there are fire drills. Otherwise, I'd rather not hear from him. This may be a bad attitude, but regardless of the candidate, I guess I just don't like Authority.
In my dreams, we will have a representative democracy. The three branches of government are "coequal," I suppose, but congress has the real power. For example, we go back to a system where only congress declares war. The executive branch are administrators, and the courts don't have to create laws, because congress actually follows the constitution and the will of the people.
I hope this is the case in 2009, when we have a Democratic president. I never want to see another president that thinks he or she has even a glimmer of the power that Bush imagines himself to have.
When these several hundred Democrats we are supporting take office in January, I hope they remember that they, legally, have the real power in our government. I'm sick to death of the idea that power somehow lies with the "news cycle" of cable TV, and whoever tells the story that catches on with talking heads has somehow "made a reality." Congress should tell the president to get our troops out of Iraq, and impeach him if he doesn't. This is the type of power that the constitution grants congress: they should use it, and let the pundits go to hell.
The republican congress is guilty of many sins, among them: greed, sloth, and blind obedience to authority (which is like idolatry, I guess.) Our new Democratic congress will need to remember these sins. In 2008, if we see any Democratic congressmen that are lacking in honesty, are unwilling to work hard or engage in independent thinking, then we need to punish them in the 2008 primary just as surely as republicans will be punished on Tuesday.
Well, whether I get my wish or not, I'm still thrilled to see what's happening in 2006: most voters are finally willing to Question Authority.