Saturday, August 23, 2008

Ten Minutes 8/23: Election Politics

So, Mr. Obama has chosen his running mate.  Senator Joe Biden.  Yay.

The airwaves and video waves were full of the politicking, the speechifying, and the analysis surrounding this momentous decision.  And all I could think was, “Oh, shut up!”

I have already decided for whom I am going to vote.  And I know why I’m going to vote the way I am.  And there is no changing my mind.  But I am not fool enough to think that anything in the good ole U S of A is going to change quickly,  no matter which candidate ultimately sweeps to victory in November.  I’ve lived in this country for 53 years, and I’ve been politically aware for about thirty-eight of those years.  That’s 9 1/2 election cycles.  Seven different presidential administrations.  And this is what I’ve learned:  Change is a fickle thing upon which to waste one’s vote.

Because evil change happens, it seems, at the drop of a hat.  Or a buck.  Or a few billion bucks.

And change for the better comes as slowly as spring in the Arctic.

So though the things that come out of Obama’s and Biden’s mouth are at least more grammatically and philosophically pleasing than the crap that has flowed from the current occupant for the past eight years, I know that it is all essentially meaningless.  First, they’ll have to get past legions of idiots who will vote against Mr. Obama purely on the basis of the color of his skin and the ethnic roots of his middle name.  Should they beat those odds, they’ll be subject to the whims of a deadlocked Congress that couldn’t pronounce policy on how to unwrap a stick of gum without six months of partisan tirades.

So I wish them luck, I wish them godspeed, I wish them fast planes and comfortable motel beds.  But I have absolutely no interest in what they have to say now.   Because we’ve all learned, have we not, that what a politician says and what he does are two utterly different things.  So I’ll plug my ears, cast my vote…and wait.

3 comments:

  1. Amen.

    (It's as if you took the words right out of my mouth...)

    Judi

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  2. Boy...isn't this the truth.

    I feel like everything that happens between now and November is a pointless waste of money and time. I become even more jaded by watching election after election fall to delegate count or worse...the decision of the supreme court rather than the will of the majority.  I'm sick of the system and the facade.  My decision is also made...and certainly nothing any of the candidates say between now and November is going to change it.

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  3. Too bad neither oneof them remembered what Biden said about his new running mate while he was still running against him. Arrrrgh! Of course McCain can't remember how many houses he has. We all should be so lucky.

    Jackie

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