Dragonflies, Butterflies & Lady Bugs

Things That Are Annoying Me About the Election

The debates -- could either side stop attacking the other long enough to answer a damned question directly? I participated in a local poll that asked me a few times if I learned anything new in the debates. In a word? No. Same old tired crap. Did I enjoy that Bush looked annoyed at having to explain himself? Yes. Was it worth listening to the same sound bites in three different settings (that were supposed to focus on three different topics)? No. You wanna know why I didn't write about them? Because most of the time, there was nothing of substance to write about!

Third parties -- wrong war, wrong place, wrong time. ::insert dorky Bush snort here:: Okay, my friends, I went there in the last election. And I even agree with you. But in this election, it feels much more important to get the current administration out of office than it does to fight that fight. I'll be right there with you in 2008, after we get Bush out of the White House.

Polling -- Enough already. It's like weighing yourself every day -- ultimately, it gets depressing and you feel like you're getting nowhere. Besides, it is pretty clear to me that these numbers don't mean much. They don't reflect any major changes going on in the American public. It looks like it's going to be a close election. Does anyone doubt that? Do we need numbers on the nightly news to tell us this?

Talk shows -- And I mean the ones on both sides. Jeff and I listen to America Left on XM. Unfortunately, the liberal hosts are playing the conservative hosts' game -- be ugly, be half-truthful, distort and yell. I get tired of hearing it, frankly, even if I agree with some of it. I'm embarrassed as a liberal that we have to stoop to that level to get people to listen to us. I don't like Rush Limbaugh or Ann Coulter because they are shrill truth-twisters. I don't want to hear Dave Schultz or Sam Seder doing the same thing. Can't we compete with a different strategy? Jeff listens all the time. When I get in the car, I almost always change the station back to Fred, which is sadly my speed these days.

Glorified Ignorance -- on both sides of the fence. Educate yourselves before you vote. Don't revel in stupidity, and most of all, don't trust what your television tells you. Research and think for yourself. What a great world it would be if we were all Independents -- somewhere on the liberal to conservative scale, for sure, but if we were all Independents, voting according to the issues, and not according to the spin. When did it become cool to be a drone? (For the record, I have voted for at least four different parties in various offices in the last three elections.)

I'm Done -- I already sent in my ballot. I voted. I don't want to hear anymore! I kid. Sort of.

Previous | Next