Mine

On the one hand, I don't think my vote matters. I intend to vote, I always vote, but I don't think it matters. Only collectively does it matter. But because I want to feel as if I know what the hell I'm doing, I want my vote to be an informed one. I want to know that when I vote for the one person whom the Machine has belched forth, its the best candidate for me.

Almost certainly, that will be a Democrat, in the next federal election. We have at least three candidates of whom I can truthfully say that I'd be comfortable with two, and satisfied with one. And there's also that Republican outlier; though I wouldn't vote for him, I like much of what he says; if his ideas and observations flavor the environment, thats all to the good. We could do a lot worse.

The mainstream Republicans: well, I haven't seen anything out of them. I mean, nothing. I'm not sure that I could even name all of them. Lets see. Mitt Romney. Rudy Giuliani. Mike Huckabee. Bill Richardson. Um... I think there's one or two more. But when I think of them, they collectively feel grey and bland to me. I don't doubt that could I meet them individually, I'd like them, find them engaging and intelligent. But collectively, on the stump? Nope, nothing -- no spark, no interest. They regurgitate the party line.

So when I think of the three that I'd vote for with pleasure, I think: okay, what differentiates them?

Well, Hillary's married to Bill, of sainted memory. OMG! Rewrite the front page! And Barack's middle name is Hussein! And John pays for haircuts out of campaign funds, and the cost is four hundred dollars! Mmm...I think I need more substance than that.

So what I'm going to try to do -- because, I have to admit it, my ability is often outstripped by my desire in things like this -- is make personal notes for a couple of key areas, and try to summarize what each of the candidates thinks, and what differentiates them. I'm sure -- I would bet serious money -- that there are web sites where people are doing that now. But you know, I don't trust them -- certainly, not the ones where they use many exclamation points, and remind us of things that are off-topic, and like ad hominem attacks. But I would bet also that there are web sites that are smarter, better at twisting what they say, so while they don't lie, they're not always telling the truth, either. I'm not talking in every detail...unless the details actually matter. I can't trust people I don't know to make that distinction, so, as least for now, I'll do it for myself. Or I'll at least try.

For now, the categories are:

1. Iraq
2. Defense
3. Health Care
4. Education
5. Corporate Oversight .....

We'll see what happens. It may be just my vote. But its my vote.