*sigh*

I'm beginning to come around on Obama. I'm still not going to be a huge fan, but I'm warming up a bit. It's based mostly on a combination of three things: I really dislike McCain, I think there's a decent chance that Obama will pick Richardson as VP, and the more the smear machine works against Obama, the more I like him.

I had to run into town today after work, and owing to the threat of a serious rain (which didn't happen) I took the bus back, since I was down at the plaza anyway*. It did rain a bit as we were coming back up the hill, and so my bike seat got soaked, so I just walked it up the road back to my dorm. As I approached the student center, some random dude - I have no idea who he was - came up to me and asked if he could talk to me about some "serious concerns about Senator Obama" and the possibility of him becoming president. I told the guy no, that I really didn't want to talk politics. He asked if I had seen the video of Obama not holding his hand over his heart during the national anthem. I said I hadn't and furthermore, that was not an issue I cared about.

Seriously: why are we as a nation so caught up in stupid ritualistic crap? You don't do the right dance and you therefore hate America? If someone is willing to shove themselves into the insane media frenzy that is the presidential campaign I'm not about to doubt that, at least in that individual's mind, they think that they are doing what is right for America. They care and they're willing to put themselves out in the open for that. None of the criticisms being thrown about have anything to do with positions on the issues; they have to do with race and whether someone is "christian enough" (do not get me started on this, because I could sit here and type all night) and what someone's background is and whether or not they give the proper salute. It's just stupid and a waste of time, because when it comes down to it, someone's personal faith is not going to fix this country. Someone's race isn't, nor is where they grew up, or their age**, or anything like that. It's where they stand on the issues, and that's all.

*Entirely unrelated note: have I ever mentioned how much I love the Santa Fe bus system? Okay, the hours aren't great - it would be nice to be able to get around after, say, 6 PM on weekends - but for a city this size, it's a fantastic bus system. It can get you reasonably close to most anywhere in town, it's affordable ($2 for unlimited use for a day), and every single bus has a bike rack on the front. I know squat about it, but I'd wager that Santa Fe really could be held up as a prime example of how a suburban bus system should be. Just work a bit more on staying on-time and expand the hours a bit, and it'll be perfect.
**Okay. I do admit I have concerns about McCain's age. That's from a purely practical perspective, in that I wonder how well a man of his considerable years, who has had not-insignificant health problems in the past, can deal with the physical and emotional demands of such a massive job. Obviously I'm just guessing, but I imagine that "being a competent head of government of the United States of America" requires you to work long days with minimal time off, travel lots, and be stressed to some degree all day, every day, for four years***.
***Note that I said competent and am thus excluding the current occupant of the office.