Why it took me so long to write about it...

This year the presidential race became personal for me for the first time. I started out a little conservative in my younger days, but as I've grown older, I moved more to the center. Over the past eight years, I've driven decidedly to the left side of the political spectrum. A lot has to do with the way the Bush administration ran the constitution of the United States through a figurative paper shredder, the way they started a pre-emptive war on false pretenses, the way they pushed our standing in the world into the gutter, and finally, the way they ran our economy into the ground in order to line the pockets of their cronies. This is the worst kind of politics and should be condemned by all - left, right and center. There's no excuse for it and I can't abide with anyone who tries to defend this behavior by claiming it was necessary to protect our security. That idea is laughable on its face. We are less secure and far more vulnerable now than we were seven years ago in the wake of 9/11.

In 2000, I voted for Al Gore. I was sure he would win - and except for the Supreme Court crowning of King George - he did win. But no use rehashing that argument. What's done is done. I was disappointed, but I didn't think it was the end of the world. (What did I know?) I also voted for John Kerry in 2004. Again, I accepted the results, even though I was angrier and more disappointed than I had been four years earlier.

This time, it's personal. I started supporting Barack Obama last fall; yup, a year before the election. I had already decided to vote Democratic - the Republicans had blown any opportunity to put checks on our joke of a president - and looked at all of the different candidates vying for the Democratic nomination. I considered Hillary Clinton. I even thought she'd be a pretty good choice if my choice didn't earn the nomination. But I ultimately decided there were too many negatives about her. Plus, everything I read about Barack Obama just made me like him more. Usually I find that I like politicians less as I discover more about them. I put my money where my mouth was and started donating to his campaign.

I have to be honest, I didn't think he'd win the nomination (I thought Hillary Clinton would win), but I thought I'd send him some cash to help him make his case to the American people. As the Democratic primary wore on, I was more and more anxious. After Super Tuesday, I knew he could win, so it made the long primary months even more hair-raising. I got angrier and angrier with Hillary Clinton as the long primary process continued, but in the end, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to the electoral process: more vetting of the candidates, more democrats registered to vote and more attention paid to the issues and the race at large.

The longer it went on, the more entrenched I became in the process. I read lots of political blogs. I watched election coverage on TV. I donated time and money - and lots of mental energy - to getting Barack Obama elected. So I just have a very hard time being objective about this election. I love writing about politics and what's going on in the world, but I just couldn't take a step back until now. And probably the only reason I can do that now, is that our long national nightmare seems to be near its conclusion. Sure, it will take years to try and rebuild this country after the mess that the Bush administration has left in its wake. Hey, they could do even more damage since it's still 3 months until Inauguration day. But January 20th is circled on my calendar. (And not just because it's my sister's birthday - sorry, Elizabeth.) January 20th is LIBERATION DAY.