no flak for you

I totally agree, Alli.

I feel like this election has been going on for a decade. I'm ready for it to be over. (But not ready for the Monday-morning quarterbacking that will inevitably happen on Nov. 5, and the anger, and possibly the retribution that people of the losing group might commit against people of the winning group.)

(It occurs to me that politics is becoming more like sports. While we haven't seen cars turned over and set on fire yet following a big political win (or loss), I expect it's coming some day.)

Okay,, a bit more of a political post. But this is the last one:

I'm telling myself - because otherwise I worry too much - that whoever is elected probably won't affect my life too greatly. I'm trying to ignore the "ZOMG you will be taxed to death," or the "But the New Tax Rebate For Health Care means your employer will stop offering it, and because you're Teh Fatz, you won't be able to get insurance on your own!" thoughts. (Which, yeah, is one of my real concerns about McCain - the whole health-insurance plan he has sounds like it will give employers a good excuse to just drop offering it as a perq - to stop offering it altogether, and leave the companies free to cherry pick only the people they want. And yeah, I know, it used to be that everyone paid for their own health care, but it also used to be that most people who had cancer died of it pretty fast.)

Part of the reason I'm backing McCain, I have to admit, is that I like gridlock in Washington. And though a McCain presidency with this current congress would be less gridlocky than some R presidencies, still. I don't like it when the Congress and the Pres are too sympatico; then people start getting clever ideas like, "Hey....we could make lots of revenue by taxing single childless people and calling it the They Can Afford It Act." or "You know what would be cool? Requiring people purchasing ammunition to write their initials on every bullet with a Sharpie at the point-of-purchase, because then when they dig the slugs out of someone, they will know who shot them!" or "Let's make a National Law banning trans fats so we can protect The Children!"

In other words: unless you're dealing with some very unusual people, a Congress and a President that work well together often lead to expansion of government. Probably not as insane-in-the-membrane as I've talked about above, but still.

And my biggest issue (well, after national defense) is not making government any dang bigger or more intrusive than it is now. (Unfortunately, it seems that neither presidential candidate will be very good at that. So as a default, I vote for the one most likely to be at loggerheads with Congress, or at least with its more "Hey...let's do this because it will Save People From Themselves" members.)

But yeah, it feels like this campaign has gone on way too long. The sad thing is, I bet the folks thinking about 2012 are figuring they will need to start even EARLIER. I honestly expect to see in my lifetime, a time when people start campaigning for the next presidential election before the current one is even over...