While I will vote next week, I feel it's just getting so ridiculous. When Bush said he believed Dick and Don were doing a great job, the first thing that popped into my mind was "You're doing a fine job Brownie," so I figure he's not the best judge of who gets a gold star for their work. Then again, if Dick and Don were eating babies on the White House lawn, he'd pretty much say the same thing, so never mind. Following W's comments, conservative writer Andrew Sullivan was quoted as saying "this is no longer an election, it's an intervention."
Electoral politics make me a bit shy to admit where I am from. I sort of cough out my response. Tell somebody you are from Palm Beach County, Florida and you will have a lot of explaining to do. For the record, I didn't live here during the 2000 debacle.
Listening to Katherine Harris in the "debate" last night, or as I referred to it "Katherine Harris and her ongoing debate with reality", was sad. She tossed out the old "9/11-Iraq connection" and all the standard party lines. Om-Taromeet and I were wondering if Sen. Bill Nelson was thinking, "Keep talking! Every time you open your mouth I go up a point!"
The saddest thing to watch are the pathetic ads, or what most people use to decide who they will vote for. In the final days it has basically come down to "My opponent is a Godless sinner!", "My opponent kicks puppies!", "My opponent eats her young!" I am just waiting for the add attacking a candidate as "an active member in an Al-Qaeda sleeper cell!" We cannot be that far off. So much for constructive discourse and, well, representative democracy. So, the middle class is slipping further into poverty, Iraq is "close" to chaos according to the US military, and the American dream is vast becoming unobtainable. But, at least gay people can't marry, some schools can teach that evolution is a "theory", and victims of rape and incest will most likely be "protected" from being able to have an abortion in S. Dakota. God bless the U.S.A.
And, in another example of the success of the Bush plan of "say it enough and people will believe anything", an informal poll I saw online said a majority of Americans think the new Al-Jazeera English-language network should not be allowed to broadcast in the US. Somewhat amusingly, %90 said if they needed work, they would not seek work with Al-Jazeera. I think they need not worry. Again, I guess free speech is only free if you tow the line. According to the current Al-Jazeera English-language web site, the network is FINALLY due to launch November 15. I, for one, hope that somebody will have the courage and conviction to carry the network. This country needs it.
Meanwhile, on the sunny side of life, according to the polls in Egypt we're now only the third most hated country in the world. Congratulations, Israel and Denmark.
Salaam.
