R.I.P. John McCain

Arizona Senator John McCain -- most famous for his status as a former presidential candidate as well as for his status as a former military officer -- retired from office for the last time on August 25, 2018, at age 81.

He will be missed.

All Politics Is Loco, Parte VIII

According to some elderly guys at one of the local restaurants, Obama already has the Presidental race all sewn up. Personally I won't believe that till next Wednesday but when even people who aren't Obama fans start talking as if his victory was a sure thing, I can't help but wonder.

Anyway, I'll be glad when this Presidential race is over. This post made me rather proud to be an American. This post about the recent booing of John McCain by his own supporters didn't make me feel so proud (I keep thinking Americans should be better than that and unfortunately, many of my fellow Americans are not) and this post -- which argued that people who merely vote for the wrong political candidate are much worse than a Russian dictator who murdered millions -- is just ridiculous.

I guess if I was smart, I would have taken advantage of early voting but I didn't. I guess I like to live dangerously.

Anyway, I discovered at a recent family gathering that I'm one of the few people left in my family who will be voting Democratic this November. Since my mother is a former Kennedy Democrat who once voted for McGovern and since my favorite cousin once described the Democratic Party in the late 1980s as "our" party -- implying that voting Democratic was a tradition for both my family and hers -- this makes me sad. But it doesn't surprise me. My mother has talked for years of her disillusionment with the Democratic Party and since she once admitted that she voted against Clinton in the 1990s because he supported defense cuts -- and because her employer was dependent on defense contracts -- I really didn't think it was too realistic to expect her to change her mind.

I was surprised by my one sibling's enthusiasm for Sarah Palin -- apparently he thinks she's a hottie -- and even more by one out-of-state cousin's antipathy toward Ms. Palin. I haven't had the chance to discuss with my cousin her reasons for hating Ms. Palin but my sibling assured me that she was most vocal about it in their online correspondence.

Anyway, I don't expect Obama to solve all our problems if he gets elected and indeed, I suspect the election will be a lot closer than most people are predicting. I don't really see McCain pulling an upset but then there was a time back in January when he didn't seem likely to even get the nomination. So who knows?

I'm keeping my fingers crossed either way.

All Politics Is Loco, Parte III

I can't help wondering if the most intelligent comment I'm likely to hear concerning the current presidential campaign comes from my eight-year-old niece, who recently admitted to supporting HilLary Clinton. Why? Because HiLlary's a girl. (Those are my niece's words, not mine.)

Since my sister is a Republican, I can't help but find this comment a bit unusual. (But then my niece recently admitted that Return of the Jedi was her favorite Star Wars movie because it has a girl on the cover. I sense a trend here.) But, hey, at least my niece is honest and not afraid to break with her parents' political beliefs. I can think of many people who are far older who can learn from her.

Meanwhile, the only thing my mother and my middle brother have said about the current campaign is that it's likely to be a Democratic year. (Note: none of them think that this is necessarily a good thing.) Of course, the Democrats have managed to pull defeat from the jaws of victory before. But with hardcore Republicans already damning leading Republican candidate John McCain before he has even gotten the nomination, anything is possible.

Anyway, it's going to be an interesting election year. And I'm still getting used to the notion of an U.S. presidential candidate who was born in the same birth year (1961) as myself. Gee, that makes me feel old.

All Politics Is Loco, Parte II

Last night, Hillary Clinton won the Democratic Primary and John McCain won the Republican primary.

Time will tell whether or not these victories were good things.

Suffice to say I'm not really a big fan of either candidate, nor am I a big fan of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee.

It looks like another one of those "lesser of two evils" elections this year...