This Classical Life

Did you see the Colbert Report Monday? There is some really funny stuff two minutes into the Democralypse Now segment. It’s nice to have a good laugh in the midst of a wearying campaign season.

Watch it here.

I drive about 15 miles to work, and today I counted signs.

On a road that leads from the city to McMansion-land (1 mile)
- 1 Obama
- 1 Ron Paul

On a byway around the city (9 miles)
- 8 Huckabee
- 13 Ron Paul

On the East-West Interstate that goes through the city, and coast to coast (2 miles)
- 1 Ron Paul

On the road into our small town (2.5 miles)
- 6 signs for a DELEGATE (Welch) for Obama voters. He really wants to go to the convention.

I found it interesting that there were zero signs for Hillary, McCain and Romney, and only one for Obama. It’s like an inverse corolation between national polling and local signage.

If you haven’t seen this, you must. When M. sent it to me yesterday, he said it is like America’s Razom Nas Bahato.

I made some calls for Mitt today. It felt good to participate. If it is McCain v. Obama in November, I’m voting for Obama. I know that on the issues no candidate is farther from me, but Obama will at least catalyze the Republican party to change the way they deliver their message.

We vote tomorrow.

We’ve been watching the debates all along, but it gets more exciting with Super Tuesday fast approaching. We’ve acquired our voter registration cards and we’re ready to cast our votes.

Who’s watching tonight’s debate? What do you think?

I respect Bill Richardson’s breadth of experience, but policy wise, he’s the pie-in-the-sky candidate.

I have never ever liked Hilary Clinton, and the thought of continuing the Bush-Clinton dynasty is bizarre. We’ll have a female president in my lifetime, so I’m waiting for the right candidate.

I grew up reading about John Edwards the trial lawyer in the local paper and watched his senatorial campaign in high school. That means I’ve lived through three Edwards campaigns. The mill stories are a little old. Watching him do his trial lawyer swank is rather frightening. Another no.

Barack Obama is young, and relatively inexperienced. He skipped a good number of votes in the Senate. But, every time I’ve heard him, I’ve been impressed with his ability to listen to others and find consensus. He’s intelligent enough to surround himself with the best advisors and listen to them.

I actually think Obama winning this election might be the best thing that’s happened to the Republican Party since Reagan. It would give incentive for the Republicans to figure out that the reason they aren’t connecting with young voters isn’t their policy but their delivery. Conservatism needs a new voice, and I think a sound defeat in the election will help usher it in.

I’ll get to the democrats soon. This post isn’t meant to drive all my readership away, just to record my thoughts as we haven’t had such an open race since I’ve been voting!

Guiliani - He’s a good leader, and he’s got some good ideas. I don’t love him but I don’t dislike him as much as I have in the past.

Huckabee - A populist who crosses picket lines? I don’t know that he’s got enough experience and wise counsel to be President.

McCain - I’ve always been pretty middle-of-the-road on McCain. He doesn’t excite me, but he doesn’t turn me off either. He’d make a good VP.

Paul - He probably comes closest to me in ideology, but I don’t feel comfortable with the thought of him as President and the more I hear him talk, the more I’m convinced he’s just too wacky to lead a nation.

Romney - I like that he’s an executive, a leader, and a person of ideas. His negativity really bothers me.

Thompson - He’s got my tenative nod at the moment, a good combination of not seeming too desperate or strange and lining up with me okay on the issues.

Thanks to the internet, Senators have had 46hr and 8m to read a 3,417 page omnibus spending bill. Apparently, thanks to the internet (and Al Gore!), that is plenty of time for any senator read all 3,417 pages of this spending bill. HOWEVER, Durbin forgot that not all senators are well-educated northern Democrats. We’ve also got us sum dum southernerz in the group (thanks to the internet?) who need a little bit longer to actually read it (at least the small words).

But why bother reading it all at? The democrats like it and they are the ones to clean up Washington, reform Congress and get rid of the pork, right?

First our fearless leader of Birmingham refuses to talk in federal court, then he decides to monitor my every movement by video camera!

What were HRC and Obama like in law school? Check out this NYMag feature which takes an extended look at their education and how it has shaped them into who they are now.

I am not sure who I am supporting in the 2008 presidential race. I have diverse values and none of the candidates really embody all of them, as far as I can tell. I’m just so tired of politics.