Turbo Claw

I’m sure that by the time most of you read this, Barack Obama will be well on his way to becoming the next president. At this point, I’m just excited for this campaign to be over. I hope, no matter which rich guy wins, we can all go back to semi-normalcy with how we treat each other.

My main problem this year is that people (and in my personal experience, WAY more on the Obama side of things) were continuously outraged at things they should have been slightly unhappy about. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard otherwise intelligent people (some of them friends) make huge sweeping statements like "I can’t imagine living in a world where people would want to vote for John McCain!" or "Sarah Palin ABSOLUTELY FUCKING TERRIFIES ME!" Really? Do these sound like the kind of things that someone who is interested in working together with people with different views would say? The rational person says "I don’t think Sarah Palin is experienced or qualified enough to be Vice President." Then on election day, they vote for the other ticket. It’s that simple. (Not to let McCain supporters off the hook; Anyone that thinks Obama is a Muslim or a terrorist is a total moron.)

Remember a few years ago, before this campaign started? (Yeah, that far back!) John McCain was respected and even liked by people on both sides. Seriously! Now, apparently, he ABSOLUTELY FUCKING TERRIFIES people. How did that happen? People are seething with hatred for McCain and Palin. Actual hate! That is a serious thing to me. Once tonight is over, I’m sure the view of the other side will be softened a bit, but I’ll remember. People were spitting venom over Sarah Palin, all because they thought someone else should have her job. Odd that a campaign with such a positive message would have that effect on it’s followers.

Not to get all "paranoid of the evil liberal media" an y’all, but if you think that the coverage of this election has been fair, you’re not paying close enough attention. Now, we all know that Fox News leans right and CNN leans left, but we’re supposed to be able to trust the broadcast networks still, right? I heard this exact quote on a promo for ABC News’ election night coverage the other night: "Is America poised to elect it’s first African-American president, or will it all be snatched away?". Snatched away?! Damn… sorry to "snatch away" the hopes and dreams of an entire culture, just because I differ on the tax plan of one party’s candidate.

Here’s what it boils down to: Both John McCain and Barack Obama are great men who really believe that their ideas will help the country. Both are intelligent, articulate and qualified. However, neither one will make sweeping change in either direction. Obama’s not going to take all of our guns away, and McCain’s not going to overturn Roe v. Wade. There also won’t be much "reaching across the aisle" by either party. The main thing that every politician wants is to be reelected. It doesn’t look good to the constituents if you’re agreeing with the enemy, now does it?

Any bipartisan relations that have a shot in hell of actually working need to happen down here at our level. Friends need to be friends again. Unless you’re that much of an asshole that you can’t respect the fact that there are other views than your own, in which case, i don’t know what to tell you. I’m just happy that everyone will finally shut up about politics for a while.