I Voted

Seriously, can we get on with life now?

When we started this ride, I was kind of stunned to realize that of the three viable candidates (Hillary, Barak Obama and John McCain) I really didn't have strong negative feelings about any of them. I mean, I'm very strongly pro-choice - not necessarily pro-abortion, but definitely pro-choice; ask me sometime, and I'll tell you why. So that pretty much ruled out McCain. And besides, I'm not a big fan of his policies on immigration, although I haven't studied the issue deeply. I met Barak Obama at the UCC General Synod in 2007 (where he attended as a church member, not a candidate) and while he seemed smart and capable and said all the right things, I wasn't bowled over by some incredible Kennedyesque wave of charm. So Hillary was my girl - not because she had ovaries, but because she was someone I felt comfortable about and who most closely matched my own political philosophy. But alas, it wasn't meant to be (this time). So Barak Obama. Okay.

Then came the debates, and John McCain just annoyed me to no end with his dismissive, condescending attitude and incessant reliance on a bad thing that happened to him 30 years ago or so. (By the way, losing 6 different planes in circumstances which might gently be described as reckless is not a recommendation for the most powerful job in the world. Never mind the way he has treated his wives.) And Palin!!!! I'm not going to even talk about Palin. Let Helen do it. But let's face it - McCain's behavior and Palin's teeth-grinding performance didn't lose them my vote, because based on the issues they never had it in the first place.

I'm sick of watching the polls. And I'm sick of faith being viewed as a strictly Republican value. And I'm sick of anyone caring whether Michelle Obama had lobster for dinner, or whether Sara Palin could have gotten her suit cheaper at JCPenneys. And I'm sick of John McCain calling me his "friend," and of worrying about his health (should worse come to worse).

I'm still feeling more than a little burned about the whole hanging chad fiasco 8 years ago, and was deeply disappointed in my fellow Americans when they took ownership of the whole mess for real 4 years ago. I want everything to turn out "right," and although I feel (as apparently Sarah Palin does) that "God will do the right thing" on election day, and I like to think that God has a plan for all this - I also like to think that God is a lot smarter than Sarah Palin and may have other ideas about what the "right thing" actually is.

Anyway, so I went down to the Town Hall this morning and voted. Apparently in the Town of Lyndon you can vote early during regular office hours, and skip the rush expected at the polls in 12 days. Mr. Brachmann, who's been working for the town for roughly 170 years, tottered over with the forms, I filled them out and marked my ballot with the special pen, sealed it in the special envelope, and was done. They didn't have any "I voted" stickers, but they did have Raisinettes in the candy dish.

So can we please be done with all this silliness now?