Ron Paul. An interesting and truly independent voice in the Repuglican wilderness. Unfortunately, he's also the skinhead choice. In times past when I couldn't stand the offerings of either party I always voted for the Libertarian candidate in the general election. This was by way of encouraging some third party mojo and thereby improving my choices between vanilla and vanilla. So I have some maverick streak in me and a history of acting out on it. On the plus side, he drives the Repuglican establishment bat shit. For me, that is an extremely attractive proposition.
John McCain. The Maverick. Unfortunately, he's become George W. Bush's official ass licker on the Halliburton Oil War. He's lost his credibility by me. And he seems so tired lately and so worn out that I'm not sure he'll have the stamina to make it through the general election. That's a plus. Another plus for him is his reality based position on immigration reform. Sort of, "let's face it my fellow Repuglicans, they're here, we need them, and they aren't going home so let's get over it and fix the illegality part of the problem. But now he's pandering with border security first. But I guess you have to throw the dogs a bone here and there. Not an unacceptable move on his part. A major plus - he drives Rush (The OxyMoron) Limbaugh and Ann (rhymes with mega-witch) Coulter absolutely f**king crazy. I wish I could do that.
Mitt Romney. He was my guvnah as long as it took to get his hand back in his pocket after taking the oath of office. He double-checked his loose change, decided for sure he had enough and immediately started his '08 run. I think he was actually observed a few times in the Bay State during his reign. Sort of like the Ross's Gull or many of the other exotic winter visitors the North American birders go crazy over here. I guess he'd be on my life list if I was keeping one. The plus of a Romney vote is it might help prolong the Repuglican slime fest. the longer that goes on the better for the Democratic candidate. However, as much as I enjoy the Repuglican display of personal trashing and groveling for the least common denominator voter in their ranks, I just can't bring my self to vote for the Stepford Chameleon. He stands for everything and anything that will get him a vote on any given Tuesday in any given precint in America. He is the ultimate Bush Repuglican and a true heir to their political legacy.
And for the next president of the USA:
John Edwards. OK, I know, but he's still on the ballot. I'm a populist to the core. And a libertarian. My idea of a good government is one that keeps out of my personal life, keeps other people out of my personal life and maintains a level playing field for all Americans. A vote for John would be more of a platform vote for what comes out of the Denver convention. I want John to have a strong say in that platform.
Hillary Clinton. You Obama zealots can skip this paragraph. And if you have some anti-Hillary bile to spew, please do it in the privacy of your own home. Somewhere early on in this race the question changed from can a woman be president to who the hell can stop her. I'm not sure exactly when that happened but it did. This moment in time was an enormous victory in and of itself for slightly over half the American population. I was raised Irish-Catholic-Boston-Democrat. I was trained from birth to vote for my people come hell or high water. If there wasn't an Irish name on the ballot, look for the Italian to get a Catholic into office. Always, relentlessly, one election after another for decades my people did this. In 1960 we finally got the job done. I cannot understand a woman in the privacy of the voting booth not voting for Hillary. But I have a Y chromosome so I'm not obligated there.
Barack Obama. First, let me qualify myself on this one. JFK was my people's hero. Still is. Bobby, the younger brother, was even better than John. Bobby owned my soul. I gave myself completely to his vision. Both of the brothers and Teddy today represent for me everything that America can become. The torch has officially been passed to Obama. He's the real deal. My big problem here is I'm still so f**cking scarred by what happened in that kitchen hallway and in that open limo (and on that motel balcony) that I have trouble giving myself the free reign to let it all out again. If I were an African-American this would be a no-brainer. Always, always vote for your own. This is how the Irish and the Italians and every other non-WASP male group got their electoral power working.
So I guess those are my choices. I'll decide in the booth. Does anybody have any input for me? ;-)
UPDATE:: :: Thanks for all the input. I did end up deciding in the booth. Near total impulse. John Edwards was first on the ballot. He's not in the race but he's still in the right space for me. It was a vote from the heart not the head. No political calculus involved - just a good man deserving of a thank you and a don't go too far away just yet. He may be needed down the road.
I forgot to post a tip jar first time. I'll post one after the first comment. BTW, looks like a big night for Obama. We need a huge change in 2009.
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