This Stupid Country

So it occurred to me yesterday that we're still nineteen months from the Presidential elections. Nineteen months. Let that sink in a little. Now, not only do we still have 21 months (19 + 2 months before our 44th President is inagurated) for Bush to screw up the country and put us at war with Iran, but we have 19 more months of political theater. Barack Obama is Jesus! Hilary Clinton is evil incarnate! Mitt Romney is...um, does anybody have anything to say about Mitt (beyond my disappointment when I realized his name wasn't the much less annoying "Milt")? John McCain is crazy! Rudy Giuliani had illegitimate children! Did we mention that Barack Obama is Jesus? And that he looks good in a suit (which I don't get, he's always looked pretty gaunt to me. And, yeah, it's better than the doughy complexion that McCain seems to be sinking in to, but seriously, he's no Kennedy...)? Hilary Clinton is married to (gasp) Bill Clinton! He's evil (said the Bush backers)! Meanwhile, you know what's going to happen over the next nineteen months, right? People will start stupid websites supporting this, that or the other. Or, even worse, they'll start a spate of "1,000,000 Strong for/Against [insert candidate here]" groups on Facebook. They'll plaster their cars with bumper stickers and endlessly annoy anyone with a passing interest in whatever their views are. The campaigns will focus on "hot button issues." We'll hear all about the War in Iraq and abortion and the gay terrorists who don't want you to have your freedom. And the campaigns will completely ignore the really important stuff, like how to actually survive Iraq instead of "leave now" or "stay the course." They'll ignore the fact that the way to get ahead in either party is to adopt positions that force voters to choose the lesser of two evils instead of getting to choose people who might actually give a crap. They'll ignore health care and poverty and the whole rich/poor divide thing. We'll get to cast our vote for the loudest voice on the political stage, not the best leader or the candidate who is actually going to do something. Don't blame me, though, I'm voting Kucinich...