On Tuesday, my sister asked me about my feelings about the Iowa poll, and Obama. And who I was going to vote for. I put her off, essentially saying that I had no idea what the latest Iowa poll results were (I really didn't have any idea), and that I was still basically unsure of who I was voting for (I really don't know yet). I told her that I wasn't ready to think and talk about politics, because it was too much. And that's all true, though when Sam's dad asked me about the same damn thing (starting out the same damn way--poll results) on Tuesday night, I went into a little more depth. Kate had gotten me thinking about it (*shakes fist at sister*), and now I had slightly more to say.
So I'm going to say this once here, and then I'm staying away from politics with a 10-foot pole, until I don't know, after the primaries. And then I'll shut up about it until, I don't know, October.
I'm for John Edwards. The things he is saying, they make sense to me. I don't know how else to express that except the way I just did. I can't really go into specifics because it isn't specific. I'm sure there are things he has said and will say that I disagree with. It's just that right now, I like him the best. I'm still not sure if I'm going to vote for him. That sounds silly, but I really am not hopeful about a Clinton nomination or presidency, and so if it has to be anyone else besides Edwards, it's going to have to be Obama. There's no way around it; the people I actually agree with most of all pretty much have no chance (even though he's crazy, most of Mike Gravel's actual positions line up with mine; even though he's nutso, Kucinich is also pretty closely aligned with my positions). Let me amend that: there's no way in hell either or those guys is going to win. For that matter, I don't know that I believe Edwards has a true shot, though ironically, I believe he might have the best shot of winning the general election against a candidate such as Romney or Huckabee. Historically, a white southern man of protestant faith is a good bet. However, setting aside Edwards for a minute, the race probably comes down to Clinton v. Obama, and in that case, I'm 100% for the latter.
Now, my sister keeps saying that if I vote my conscience (Edwards) and Clinton wins the nod, won't that suck a lot? Well, yes, it will. However, something is mitigated for me by knowing that Obama might be a walk in IL. I mean, this is his state, is it not? I will have no issue with voting for Obama in the general election. It will be a pleasure to do so. But I'd rather have Edwards in that race, and so I think I must vote my conscience.
The worst thing about all of this is that it might make no difference. Maybe Huckabee or Giuliani or Romney (though probably not the last one) will win the general election no matter what. People seem to be unable to vote for someone who says uncomfortable things about the state of affairs. People don't seem to want to hear about the huge debt the Bush and Co. White House have rung up, or the sad state of the poor in this country. People smell one whiff of mandatory health care and they get all het up about freedom and choice, and then elect someone who's eroding freedom by the minute. I'm not saying I've got the answers, or that Edwards or Obama do, but I have enough hope that they'll not be a slave to the system. I don't have any hope that Clinton will be able to that.
Anyway, it's now 30 min later, and I can't remember what the hell I was banging on about, so this'll have to be the rather abrupt end to this post. Don't know about the poll results, don't know who I'm voting for. QED.
Between Giulianni, Huckabee, or Romney, only Giulianni really has a shot.
Huckabee has publicly stated that he does not believe in evolution and, though there may be many hard-core Christians who agree with him, I seriously doubt he'll have a shot at winning. If the republicans were dumb enough to put him as their candidate (and they might be), that sort of thing will come out and there is no way he'd win. That, and it has recently come to light that he basically got a convicted rapist released from prison 25 years early as a political move (you'd have to find a news story, I'm incapable of explaining here) and the guy went and raped and murdered another woman.
As for Romney, there is no way a Morman will get elected President in the next ... well, I don't know that the US would ever elect a Morman. There's too many rumors and unknown factors there. As a country, we're suspicious of the unknown and, with the exception of Utah, Mormonism is generally an unknown. Sadly, most of my knowledge on the topic comes from "Big Love" and "South Park."
Somehow, I got a subscription to Newsweek. I didn't order it, but it comes to my house, so that's why I know a couple of things about the Republican candidates. Usually, I ignore them until the general election.
Posted by: Rita | December 06, 2007 at 04:36 PM