So, you might not know it from reading my blog, but I am still very much undecided about the presidential race, especially when it comes to the general election. Obama fascinates me, but I'm not convinced that he has the national security experience to be president (and goodness knows we need someone who knows what he or she is doing this time around). I don't trust Hillary, and I'm a little afraid of McCain. (I'm also - genuinely - afraid of McCain's age issue. The presidency ages people at an alarming rate, and I'm not sure he can handle 4 years. He already looks so tired from the campaign.) So here I find myself, in the middle, trying to make a decision about for whom to vote and whether to do the primary thing or not. (To be clear: I think I will vote in the Democratic primary in Austin, because that's the election for a lot of local races, including District Attorney and several judges. I'm just not 100% sure about the presidential primaries.)Anyway, I'm trying to be open-minded and give everyone a chance, and also to see as many of the candidates as possible. But I have to say: the Obama messianic stuff creeps me out a little. The other day I linked to a quip Melissa Rogers found that was to the effect that, "This is a race between a New York Senator who was born in Illinois and an Illinois Senator who was apparently born in a manger."
Exactly. I'm all for enthusiasm about the democratic process, but this is getting a little out of hand. Poster setups like the one above creep me out a little. A and I walked to lunch on the Drag today and were acosted by supporters of both HRC and Obama. The Obama kids are everywhere, trying to drum up attendance at tonight's rally. And if you say, "no, thank-you," when they try to hand you a flier, you get a lecture about this primary making a real difference for the first time in twenty or thirty years.
I get it, kids, I get it. You're excited about your candidate. Good for you. But for goodness sakes'. Tonight should be interesting for those of us who aren't yet committed to a candidate. I wonder if we'll get witnessed to?
