Enough, already! Can’t we just vote now?

When this election is over, I hope someone somewhere will create and enforce a system of shorter presidential campaigns. I was sick and tired of this one several months ago, and we haven’t even gotten to the national conventions yet.

By the time we install our new president in January, it will have been almost two years since the first candidate launched a campaign. Once they announced, they devoted the majority of their time to campaigning; at the same time, they continued to collect full salaries for the jobs they weren’t doing.

That would be the second thing that needs fixing. The salaries of elected officials should be reduced or suspended while they are campaigning. They shouldn’t be allowed to collect full pay for jobs they aren’t doing. Even in non-election years they don’t spend that much time in Washington. They go on long holiday breaks, endless junkets, and summer recesses. Is it so unrealistic to expect our lawmakers to stay in Washington and make laws?

But I digress. The presidential race has disintegrated into stupid remarks, stupid ads, alleged racism. I want issues! What I’m seeing now from both the candidates and the media is trash. It’s worse than worthless; it’s irritating as hell.

McCain, in particular, seems to have run off the tracks. I like the guy, but his campaign is pathetic. Photo ops in a supermarket and outside a sausage house while Obama is in Berlin speaking to a crowd of 200,000? Ads comparing Obama to Paris Hilton? Or blaming Obama for the increase in gas prices? This is not a campaign; it’s a train wreck. And you only need half a brain to see it. I’d blame his campaign manager, but didn’t he pick his campaign manager? And if he didn’t, why not? If you want to be commander-in-chief, you should know how to choose and delegate to competent subordinates.

So this never-ending campaign drags on into the dog days of summer. Yawwwn. At least we’ll have the Olympics to watch for a while.

3 thoughts on “Enough, already! Can’t we just vote now?

  1. I swear, I get so frustrated with McCain. What does he stand for? And I’ll tell ya, he ‘aint lookn’ too healthy these days. He’s pale (ever hear of chapstick?) and he’s got one foot on the grave and the other on a banana peel.

    I am still scratching my head on him, what is he thinking? A chimp could do a better job at campaigning than he is.

    Through all of this, I am left more confused than ever. With all the wishy washy back peddling, I have no clue who stands for what.
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    Anymore, I don’t either. I hope they start laying out something substantive before November. This is a ridiculous way to pick a president.

  2. And the best candidate was eliminated. oh well…
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    Sorry about that, Leafless. Maybe McCain and Obama won’t get the nominations when they go to convention. They’re not official till then.

  3. Amen on the salary issue.

    As for McCain, well, *snicker* I don’t like what he stands for, so his sausage shop shenanigans–say THAT ten times fast–are okay by me. Sad to say, however, that although I agree with Obama on the issues that are important to me, he doesn’t thrill me like Dean did on the last go-around. I do appreciate how articulate Obama is, though, even if it comes off as a little bit slick to people who are disinclined to vote for him anyway. Ah, well, my vote was a done deal years ago. Ex-Republicans are more strident than ex-smokers.
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    You saw the light way before I did. I’m a slow learner from very conservative roots, but hey, better late than never!

    sausage shop shenanigans, shausage shop shenanigans, shausage shopsh …

... and that's my two cents