Let's Get Serious

I'd like to discuss politics now.

Not in depth, you understand, but just some general thoughts I've had about the subject, seeing how it's the year we get to pick our new president. Are you as excited as I am about this prospect?

So what I've been wondering is What Kind Of A Crazy Person Would Want To Be President At This Point In History?

I mean, really. Bush has fucked up things so badly that it seems to me it's going to take at least four years just to get things vaguely back on track. Where's the fun or glory in that? Are there really people who have such a desperate need to perform public service that they're willing to spend millions and millions of dollars and all their time and energy to get elected to a job that they're completely bound to fail at?

And what kind of an egomaniac does it take to believe that straightening out the country is even within the realm of their capabilities?

The economy is now in world-wide panic mode, we're still in Iraq, the middle east is, as always, threatening to blow, we've forgotten all about our constitution, our schools suck, our bridges are falling down, our highways are crumbling, our health-care system is a joke unless you're rich, our reputation in the world is pathetic, we're torturing people in secret prisons and not-so-secret prisons, we're limiting basic human rights in our own country while threatening other countries with war because they're not protecting theirs, the entire planet is on the verge of major catastrophe due to global warming, we're in hock to our eyeballs to China and the countries that supply us with our lifeblood-oil, and people who believe that their Imaginary Friend created the universe in seven Earth-days are fighting to get science out of the classroom.

Barack- you ready to take that on?
Hillary- you want the job?
Huckabee- you think you the man?

Why?

So as I see it, anyone who wants to be president has go to be a little bit insane. At the very least.
And beyond that, I'm not believing a word I hear fall from any candidate's mouth. I've gotten to the point where I'm so cynical about the whole thing that I believe everything they say is the result of some focus group study and if I hear the word "change" one more time I'm going to puke.

I'm not saying that all the candidates are big liars, just up there parroting the words they think people want to say but...
Oh wait a minute. Yes. I am.

This is not to say that I wouldn't much rather see Hillary, Barack or John in the White House than Rudy, Mitt or Mike. Please. Don't even say the word Republican to me.

BUT, at this point in time, I'm ready to have a system for electing the president that involves a Oija Board or a telephone book. We're spending crazy money and we're all acting like monkeys, listening to these people make promises that we all know damn well they can't keep.

It's just not working for me.

Is it working for you?