Tuesday, February 05, 2008

The Choice of Super Tuesday

Well, last night I got the phone call I have known for years, would be coming. My daughter, the little girl that I took on my first trip into the voting booth when she was not yet 3 months old, is now a grown woman and she informed me she would be voting republican in the primaries. I, now, have a slightly different understanding of the term "bleeding heart" when it comes to politics. I thought back to our political discussions through the years around the dining room table with her friends. I remember how interested she was when the movie "JFK" came out. And as she continued to talk on the phone last night explaining the need for change, I just got so very sad. She's right, we do need change, but the fact that Bush beat McCain in 2000 doesn't necessarily mean McCain is the change we need. Although she indicated McCain is simply part of her voting strategy in the bigger picture for the national election, it's still a republican vote. She spoke of Obama and his drive for change. She thinks Obama offers hope simply because we don't know much about him. And the fact that Obama is an unknown, with an unknown agenda doesn't guarantee we'll want the change that we get with him. I realize Hillary is simply not a good choice. She is too divisive and every move she makes, every sound she utters is fodder for the conservative pundits, which is why I think they truly want Hillary in the White House. They've gotten all the 8 years removed mileage out of her husband, and they don't dare spend the next eight years bashing the current President, so Hillary would be the obvious choice of the pundits. To read about Romney, he and John Kerry could be interchangeable. He has voted anti-gun legislation, yet joined the NRA a few months before announcing his candidacy. He has been pro-choice until recently and now he's staunchly pro-life. He gave Massachusetts the Hillary health plan, and I thought conservatives didn't want that . . . He puts the capital F in flip-flop.  Romney claims Huckabee is splitting the vote and Huckabee claims it is Romney. Wouldn't that just be a hoot if the two of them end up on the ticket later this summer? I read an eye opening article about parents teaching their children about politics. I mean it started very cute with "party training our kids" and got to the point some man was bragging that his preschooler knew what the elephant stood for. That was a bit over the top for me!   So as I sit here typing away, getting ready to read the returns, I realize I've dropped out of the establishment, I'm one of the boomers that's done it backwards. I'm not an old flower child or Jesus freak, I'm a middle aged minister/author that's getting ready to go milk and gather eggs and just planted the first of this year's garden, and I'm grateful for the choice I've made. I only hope the next generation gets to enjoy some choices after the choice that will be made this year.
. . . but by a man of understanding and knowledge the state thereof shall be prolonged. a Proverb of Holy Scripture

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