Political leanings

With the Democratic National Convention over now, and with the United States (and anyone else in the world who gives a crap) poised for John McCain's announcement today of his running mate, not even I can avoid thinking about the political scene. Even with my insular life of butt wiping, snot aspirating, and food-spill cleaning.

Let me get the big question and answer out of the way early:

Who will I be voting for in November? Obama.

I sighed with audible relief back when he won the primaries and Hillary got bumped out of the running. While I'd love to see a woman as POTUS before long, I find her abrasive, and I just don't want to see her and her hubby's familiar faces back at the head of the power pack in Washington. I know it's hugely judgmental of me, but when it comes to issues of marital fidelity I see things in black and white. You're either an honorable person or you're a cheating bastard. Bill is the latter. And Hillary could've kicked him to the curb, but I think she puts her own political aspirations before that sort of consideration. That just doesn't sit well with me.

Anyway, Obama may yet prove himself to be a slick career politician like so many of the other big players are, but I'll willingly suspend my disbelief for now and consider him the real down-to-earth person he's coming across as. His having grown up w/o everything little thing his heart desired being handed to him on a platter speaks volumes to me. I think we're pretty soft as a nation now, and I see it all the time in the microcosm of life around me--people spoiling their kids rotten, thereby raising a person who thinks they are entitled to successes without the work that is necessary to earn them. Hey, it'd be great if life worked that way, but it doesn't.

It's never an easy decision for me when there's a presidential election because I'm a die-hard Independent. So with each election season, I have to start from scratch. I specifically want to leave party loyalty out of the mix, and that's why I choose to remain an Independent. During the last presidential election, a now-former coworker of mine remarked that I should register with one of the big parties so I could vote in the primaries because, as she put it, not doing so was "a waste." Well, it'd be great if I could vote in the primaries and keep my Independent status at the same time. I am not proud of, nor in agreement with, the politics of either the Democratic or the Republican party, so why should I choose one of them to be associated directly with? I reminded her that it's my choice and my right to remain separate from either of those parties, and that's what I plan to do for the foreseeable future.