I have actually always liked, and respected, Senator McCain.  And it’s hard not to admire someone who survived years of torture in a POW camp. I get deeply offended by the non-stop ageism of this campaign, just as the endless racism and sexism is ugly and disgraceful–and completely beneath my vision of the way people are supposed to behave towards one another.  It is actually possible to disagree with someone politically, and still be courteous.  Americans should be able to accept a wide variety of opinions from their fellow Americans, without constantly going to pieces.  (And if I never hear the phrase “denounce and repudiate” again, I’ll be delighted)

But then, Senator McCain did this, and my opinion of him changed forever. The Office of the Presidency does deserve respect, even if you’re not a fan of its current occupant, but I certainly would not go out of my way to embrace the person who treated my daughter with such callous disrespect in the 2000 Republican primaries. But, then, Senator McCain would almost certainly have to be carrying some heavy guilt about the way he handled his first marriage, so maybe he doesn’t wish to cast stones.

I am a very competitive person–always have been–but, I have never wanted to win anything enough to switch my beliefs–and also, to beg strangers for money. It’s degrading.

I would never tack to the center, or veer to the right–just to win an election.  I’d rather be elected–or not–based upon my actual beliefs.  (which could well be quite centrist in many areas–which means that I wouldn’t turn to the left to hoodwink a bunch of primary and caucus voters, either.)  Wouldn’t it be nice to elect someone to high office, and actually know what to expect from the person, once he or she was sworn in?  I have no idea who Barack Obama is, and that makes me very nervous, but who is John McCain?  This version of him is pretty terrifying.  This version isn’t.  And this version is somewhere in-between–until you give it more thought, whereupon it goes back to being alarming.  (and do I privately think that Senator Clinton would have made mincemeat out of Senator McCain last night, instead of a halting, inconsistent performance which hurt Senator Obama more than it helped?  Well, yes.  I do think that–and quite openly, it would seem)

The problem is, there’s a really good chance that Senator McCain is going to win in November, for many reasons–some of which are within Senator Obama’s control, and some of which aren’t.  Ergo, my energies will be going down-ticket, since if Senator McCain does win, he is certainly a one-term President, and with strong majorities in the House and Senate, the amount of damage he can do in four years will be mitigated.  Particularly with different, and more courageous, Congressional leadership–but, that is a topic for another day.

So, where’s Al Gore?  Funny that such a prominent Democrat isn’t slated to speak at the Convention, isn’t it? Hmmm.  Could it be–?  Yeah, it’s a pipe-dream, but by God, I’m going to allow myself to have it.