Brilliant. Kim’s going to make Mom watch it.

Ok I gotta say it was really a funny bit and I liked it, I dont necessarily agree with the message but hey to each their own I guess. He sure looks different with hair, he might want to consider the “Hair Club for Men”. I am Ron Howard and I approved this message.

Yeah, that Democrat gene isn’t enough to sway my dad.

Bah. Religion, sure. But POLITICS IS NOT THE SAME. People should actually think about who they’re voting for, not just blindly accept what everyone else around them is doing. Right? So while I’d never go around trying to tell people that their religion is wrong, I think telling them why I think one particular politician is more suited than another is a whole different thing. Also, notice that I said “particular politician.” I’m not blindly loyal to a particular party (as the Labor party in NSW well knows). So if somebody is on the fence, if I think there’s a chance I might be able to get them to reconsider something, it’s worth a shot, right?

I don’t even know really how I got to this state. No, actually I do. It was Palin. For the past two years, I’ve been reassuring the Aussies that the next election would be different. McCain, I said, “is absolutely the best of the conservatives. If a Republican is going to be President, you can do a lot worse.” It wasn’t going to be a question of the lesser of two evils. I was feeling good.

And then he insulted me and everyone else who ever gave him the benefit of a doubt when he picked Palin as his running mate. It was so transparently, obviously an “anything to get elected” tactic that it completely changed how I saw the guy. She’s not qualified to be the Vice President, and I don’t know how anyone could argue otherwise. She turned “maverick” into a punchline, a drinking game. She talks about being a Walmart-shoppin’ hockey Mom but spends $150,000 on clothes. She winks as she whips up violent, racist behavior at her rallies. She abused her power in Alaska to pursue personal vendettas and hid the evidence behind easily cracked public email accounts. She can’t answer a simple question about the newspapers she reads without a script in front of her. She’d have me believe that she’s some sort of feminist, but her actions show that she cares less about achieving gender equality than she does about pushing her own morality on everybody else. I DO NOT WANT THIS WOMAN ANYWHERE NEAR THE WHITE HOUSE.

And the fact that John McCain picked her, picked her knowing that she was all these things – or not knowing, which is almost as bad – just makes me sad and angry. He let me down, and I wish those idiots frothing about the possibility of a brown person being elected would settle down for two seconds and realize that he let them down too.

But that’s ridiculous! We’re NOT talking about religion, and it shouldn’t be that personal. We’re talking about two people who are in effect INTERVIEWING for a job. We’re the people hiring. All I’m suggesting is we talk about why someone might or might not be good for it. Why do people have to get all defensive and weird about it? Why can’t we have a rational discussion without people feeling like they’re being condescended to? I have friends who support McCain/Palin that I know well enough not to bother trying to dissuade. Mostly because they’re single-issue voters, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. I may not agree with them, but I can respect them for voting their conscience. But when I see people on the news saying, “Obama, HE’S AN ARAB!” and “He’s a SECRET MUSLIM!”, well, those aren’t views I can respect. Those shouldn’t be the basis of anybody’s vote, because they’re patently UNTRUE. And I resent the implication that trying to point out these lies and misinformation is being elitist or condescending. And really, I’d have to say in this situation that the listener is the one being childish, unable to debate their own position without resorting to “NAH NAH NAH, NOW I’LL NEVER CHANGE MY MIND JUST TO SPITE YOU!” It’s just silly.

Again, we’re not talking about sports teams here. It’s a job interview. I think we should hired Candidate A for the reasons I stated. If you’ve got reasons for selecting Candidate B, I’m happy to hear them. But don’t try to tell me that I can’t discuss it with my own friends and family without them getting all petulant and spiteful. We’re all grown-ups.

(I do, however, accept that you guys might have a lot more “election fatigue” than I do. I’m not getting robo-calls all hours of the day and seeing TV ads. So I’ll grant that you guys may just be tired of the whole thing. Fair enough. It’s a better excuse than “If you try to give us facts and arguments, we’ll just shut down.”)

Look, obviously you’ve got huge issues about discussing politics. I just find it a bit funny that you’re flying off the handle about me “invading” you… when A) I haven’t called a single person; I only joked about it twice, and B) this is my own personal website. If you don’t like what you read here, or if you take it personally, DON’T READ IT. I’ve had to tell other family members this before, so let me just reiterate: Not everything is about you. If I want to rant on my website or call my Grandma to talk about politics, that’s my own business.

Hey, I never said commenting wasn’t welcome! I’m all about the communication. After all, I’m the one that wanted to call people up and preach to them. 🙂

Seriously, though, I didn’t mean to imply that people weren’t welcome to disagree with me. I was just suggesting to those that only ever seem to get offended by what I say… that you might want to avoid the site for the next few weeks. Because, oh yes, I’m going to keep talking about the election. And not because it’s my way of being spiteful or trying to piss people off. I’m doing it because it’s what I’m thinking about, and that’s the whole point of this site. And based on the emails I’ve received in the past 24 hours, it’s what most of the readers – including many family members – want me to talk about.

So please, if somebody wants to try to convince me that McCain is the right candidate, I would love to hear it.* See the difference there? I’m actually asking. I’m didn’t say: “If you tell me why you’re voting McCain, I’ll only shut my ears and become even more sure of voting Obama! You’re just insulting me with your logic and arguments!” I’m happy to discuss the issues. Please don’t make it seem like I’m the one who’s censoring people.

*Unfortunately I already voted so you can’t change that, but maybe you could make me feel better in the remote event of a McCain win. In that case, I’ll take all the consolation I can get.

The NYT endorsed Obama? AMAZING! Next thing we’ll here is that water is wet.

Wow. I don’t know how you arrived at the conclusions you did about the content of your site and what “people” (I suppose you mean me) think about it, but it’s so far off the mark I don’t even know where to start. I think you really need to read what I had to say and take it at face value rather than manufacturing all these presumptions about something we’re not even discussing. FYI I have no problems with any of the content you put out there. I think it’s good that you have a good way to put your views out there in a way that allows people to look into things for themselves. Nor am I offended at all about the things you have recently said regarding the Republican party (that could be b/c I’m not a Republican). This is not the issue. The reason I so extensively felt I needed to “explain” my logic about your contact with the A & K Howard clan (rather than just simply stating- ‘we’re fine thanks, no need to call us about the election’) is b/c from reading your responses to other posts you often demand a rationale. Yes, I do have huge issues discussing politics b/c it seems like every time in my life that I have ever gotten into a conversation with someone about politics, they end up biting my head off which I don’t really like. I don’t like tension or conflict and so you need to understand that’s just the way some people are. So , I was giving you my rationale. That’s all. No offense need be taken. I don’t know if it’s a midwestern etiquette thing or what but it’s real. We don’t even talk about politics extensively in our home. Anthony and I know that if one of us happens to disagree with the other there’s not a lot we can do to change the other’s mind besides argue and that never works. Plus, he’s entitled to his own life philosophy. I should never be the one to attempt to change that about him and accept that about him. That’s how I feel about other family too. In a perfect world, it would be more productive to argue politics and come to some resolve but you have to understand your audience before you can really “argue effectively” with someone.

Alright kids. Enough….