So Here's the Deal ....

Not too long ago, I got my 2008 political rant out of my system. It felt good to vent. Everyone needs purging now and then.

The thing is, though, purges don't always mean 'no future recurrences.' Now don't start reaching for the mouse to click away from me, thinking I'm off on another monsterously long tangent. I promised I wouldn't put you through that again for another four years, and I won't. Well, not really. What I'm about to do is less of a 'purge' and more of a 'summing up.'

Here's the deal ...

I've watched all the debates so far this year. I've read political analysts views, both Democrats and Republicans. I've read forums from average citizens, both Democrats and Republicans. I've listened to my friends over here to get the outsiders' views on what's going on in the States. I've hypothesized and synthesized and every other -sized thing I could do, and have boiled it down to the sheer nuts and bolts of the situation:

It's simply a matter of what you like.

That's it. There's no particular right or wrong, there's no one way to accomplish things, there's no 100% winners or losers. It's all shades of grey (or 'gray' depending on what you like) and there are as many of those as there are people in the world. It's part of what makes Life interesting and vibrant, part of what separates us living things from the inanimate. We may not always like another shade on the scale, but thank Heaven they exist in the first place.

So what have I learned that I like?

* I fundamentally like Democratic principles much more than Republican ones.
* I do NOT like politicians who play cutesy-cutesy 'aw shucks, golly gee whiz' boy/girl-next-door roles
* I ESPECIALLY DO NOT like those kind of politicians if they play those roles because 1.) they think I'm stupid enough that a charming smile and wink is all it takes to make me believe they're the best suited for the job, or 2.) they think I'm supid enough not to realize that's the tactic they resort to when they can't come up with a decent answer to a question.
* I do NOT like to be patronized and treated as if I'm stupid
* Having said that, I WANT a leader who is smarter than me, more eloquent than me, overall 'better' than me (why would I want someone 'just like me' when I would be total crap at the job of Leader of the Most Powerful Nation in the World?!). I may not be stupid, but I'm too stupid for that particular function in Life. Our leader had better not be.
* I WANT a leader who can be calm and diplomatic in tense situations
* I do NOT want a 'high-strung' leader who stamps his/her foot and flies off the proverbial handle when things don't go his/her way (a.k.a. GW annoyed with France for not agreeing with him on the Iraq War question, then sticking his tongue out at them in 'sour grapes')
* I WANT a leader who can restore our credibility throughout the world

And most importantly ....

*I WANT this election to be over and decided one way or another, so that the attention can get back to actually accomplishing things, not just talking/arguing/backstabbing about them.

I sent off my Absentee Ballot today. Who knows if it will actually make a difference or not, but I've done my job. Now all I can do is sit back, enjoy the ride, and hope for a pleasant outcome ... whoever ends up sitting behind that desk.