Political meanderings

I like Kerry. Really, I do! Many moons ago I started out as an ABB. Slowly, I started seeing positive glimpses of Kerry, but they were hidden behind bad soundbites and awkward photo shoots. The past two presidential debates have been very revealing. Last night was incredible.

Yes, Bush performed much better than he had in the first debate. And thanks to that low bar he had previously set, he might get a little bounce for improvement this time around. But there were times he looked like a complete ass. I hate that swagger of his. I hate that he winks at the audience - who the fuck is he winking at?? If he ever winked at me I'd probaby punch him in the face. He showed his temper last night, shouting over Charlie Gibson, who was just trying to give him more time! He did calm down about halfway through, but man, there were times I thought (hoped) he might really lose it.

A friend that is not very involved in politics asked an interesting question today. She has watched both the presidential debates and is now a fan of Kerry. Her question is, why did he have such a reputation of being a douche bag (her words)? Why do even some Kerry voters not like him?

Honestly, I think the reason people haven't connected to Kerry prior to the debates is he doesn't come across well in sound bites. He's the kind of guy with whom you could have a long, fascinating conversation. He seems like he can carry on a truly engaging discussion - I'd love to sit down and have dinner with him. Whereas Bush is the kind of guy with whom you'd watch football and trade one-liners. Yeah, Kerry's a little stiff and awkward sometimes, but I prefer stiff and intelligent to folksy and (dangerously) simple-minded. Hell, even some of my good friends aren't always the most charming people in the world. (Of course I'm always charming, heh...)

And because some of my most astute insights come while I'm in the shower, here's my thought from yesterday: why is it that President Clinton lying about a blow job is an impeachable offense, while President Bush and Co. lying about a fucking war that has resulted in over 1,000 American deaths and damaged this country's reputation across the globe might not even get him fired? If you think about the president as the CEO of a company, he should have been fired years ago. No company would keep a CEO on staff, no matter how much they liked him as a person, that has screwed up, broken promises, and offended its customers the way Bush has.

Sometimes this shit is really fucking depressing.