Like Choosing Between a Root Canal and a Colonoscopy

Hello,

So, as you may have noticed from the counter adorning the top right hand corner of your screen...I'm something of a liberal. Registered Democrat since the age of eighteen, veteran of protests, voter registration, etc, etc. I was really stoked this year when Clinton ran (I mean, hey, whatever your opinion of the Clintons as human beings, they know how to govern). And then I got less stoked.

Now let me say, this has nothing to do with race or gender. It's about damn time we had a woman or a person of color (or both!) in the White House. I'm just really, really not sure about Obama. I expect a certain amount of smoke and mirrors, flash-in-the-pan rhetoric...it's just part of the game. I find it extremely worrying, though, that this appears to be ALL Obama offers. Seriously...the man rarely, if ever, provides an actual *answer* to a question. Is he charismatic? Yes. Is he an excellent speaker? Hell, yes.

I just have serious reservations about voting for the man to be the leader of the free world. Just...doesn't seem to be a great deal of practical experience here. And I'd be okay with that if he seemed to make up for it in ability...but no, that seems to be kind of lacking, too.

On the other hand...McCain, though admittedly one of the few Republicans I'd actually seriously consider voting for, is surrounding himself with people that scare me, quite frankly. A McCain administration might have been an okay thing ten years ago...but now I fear we'd just get ANOTHER four years of the mess that the current administration has created. I don't like his stance on women's reproductive rights, gay rights, or the war in Iraq (though I like his stances on the environment and global warming).

Politics is always about choosing the person you think will screw up the country the least (or at least screw it up in ways you can deal with!), but this is worse than usual.

Sometimes I wish I lived in Canada.

In other news, yay, back on schedule for the Imp. Cramping like a motherfucker, but I have never been so happy to see red. I actually did a little victory dance in the bathroom stall this morning, pumped my fist in the air and went: "Yesssssss!" like I was still in freakin' middle school. I shudder to think what the person in the stall next to me thought I was doing.

Oh well.

So, the way this cycle is shaping up, it's looking like I'll be ordering the swim team to arrive on the 22nd, squirting them up the ladybits on the 27th, 28th, and 29th, boarding a plane for Africa on the 31st, and testing my second weekend in Africa. I'm seriously considering devoting some of my suitcase space to a box of Top Ramen packages and peanut butter and just make my own food over there...I really don't want to catch a stomach bug in Africa and get all excited thinking it's morning sickness. Or get morning sickness and have it mask something more serious picked up from the food and water.

I'm also kind of considering telling my program director that I have OCD so they won't be offended if I do weird stuff like skip the provided meals in favor of said Top Ramen.

I haven't decided just how strange this makes me.

Seriously, Imp, do you have any idea how cool Mommy's pregnancy announcement idea would be? Our family would FLIP...it'd be soooo hilarious, and I promise to take pictures of their faces. You will appreciate the entertainment value of this once you meet everyone...particularly your great-uncles, J and A. Oooooh, Imp, PLEASE come first try...you have NO idea how much I want to get Uncle J's goat like that.

Hell, PLEASE come first try 'cause I can't wait to hold you.