I think I am getting tired of politics

[gwd-scouter]

For sure, I've been a political news junkie. CSPAN every morning listening to Washington Journal. Flip around from CSPAN to CNN to occasional viewings of Fox News for a different perspective. I watched all the debates during the primaries, the VP debate and the three Presidential debates. This year's season has been quite exciting.

 

But, it is getting tedious. I know Sarah Palin has only been on the scene for a short time, but just how many more times do we have to hear about trooper-gate, her glasses, her wardrobe, hockey moms and mavericks? Joe six-pack and Joe the Plumber have had their 15 minutes of fame. Ayers, Revered Wright, ACORN, socialism, yawn. From the campaign rhetoric on both sides, you'd think that the middle class were the only people living in the United States.

 

Obama is going to be tested. McCain has already been tested. Obama is an elitist, McCain cares about the average 'Joe'. Obama lacks experience, Palin has the experience to be the next President if necessary. Obama shows poor judgement, McCain is erratic.

 

Obama is ahead in the polls, in swing states and even some typically red states. McCain is the original comeback kid and will pull out a victory.

 

I live in the very red state of South Carolina, but watching TV the past few evenings I've seen a barrage of outrageous 527 ads against Obama. I can only imagine the ads running (for both sides) in the closely contested states.

 

Fortunately I am secure in my house, no worries there, but my 401K has lost half it's value. I am lucky that I have fantastic health insurance, but because I've actually had to use it the past couple of years I now realize how hard it must be on those that don't. My older son received full scholarship to college, but younger son probably won't, the tuition will be much higher three years from now, and his scholarship fund is suffering losses.

 

Our economy is in the dumper. Gas prices may be coming down, but food prices haven't. We're losing jobs every month, we're fighting two wars, we've lost the respect of nations around the world. We have an energy crisis and a climate problem. Our infrastructure is in desperate need of attention. We have populations of poor, homeless, seniors and veterans that need help. Our educational system needs an overhaul. Illegal immigration increases every year. And on and on and on.

 

I've been listening to CNN all evening. Haven't heard mention of any of those things. On the plus side, I did just hear on Larry King that Sarah Palin criticized using fruit flies in medical research. Oh good, I was hoping I wouldn't miss hearing her stand on that issue.

 

Eleven days to go.

[jtswestark]

Go for a hike this weekend or go camping. Forget about the election for the weekend and leave off the TV. Appreciate some of the seemingly little but actually very important parts of this wonderful world.

You'll feel better, I promise!

[scoutldr]

Ditto, gwd. If it makes you feel better, I had to put 2 kids through college with NO financial aid of any kind, so my retirement savings are not what they could have been. They were in that zone where they were too "average" for merit scholarships, and my middle manager govt salary was too "rich" for a need scholarship. I'm under the new federal retirement plan, so the bulk of my retirement income will be whatever I manage to sock away in a thrift plan (401K). I've lost 40% of it since January. After getting the two boys launched, I thought we would be on easy street, but then my MIL became "terminal" with COPD and with allegedly 6 months to live, I agreed to have her move in with us. That was 3 years ago, and she is still here, not contributing a cent to her own support although she has an income of about 30K per year. Don't get me started. Retirement for me now is a fantasy...I am resigned to the prospect of just dying at my desk. And I have told my 2 boys that no matter what happens, I will NEVER ask them to support me.

 

I too am fed up with politics and lying politicians with their attack ads. The local congressional race is particularly nasty. I see in a few jurisdictions they are passing "none of the above" laws...where if "NOTA" wins, the candidates are thrown out and we start over. That would be real interesting. Let the people decide who the candidates will be...not the political parties which are controlled by special interest groups.

[Ohio_Scouter]

Don't sweat it, gwd. Take jtswestark's advice and take a hike with your scouts. The leaves are turning color, and the forests are beautiful. I think I will, too. Until now, I thought I would retire and maybe take a job at Philmont. Unfortunately, my 401k has been trashed, so I'll have to formulate a plan "B" sometime soon.

 

On the plus side, in the last 2 years, I've survived a quadruple heart bypass and prostate cancer. I've really stopped worrying about retirement and most other problems, and I'm just happy to be here amongst the living, day by day.

[packsaddle]

Something tells me a good hike with the guys might be better expressed metaphorically. Anyway, as much as I sympathize with gwd, (and here I suggest that there is a thin blue boundary layer of not "real America" around her, surrounded by a sea of red in SC) I'm not going to ride to the rescue with a white hat. I'm riding in and my hat is definitely black, OK maybe brown leather, but you get the idea.

 

There is no way that either of these overblown egos (and I'm talking Presidential candidates here) can possibly solve the problems that we've been cultivating since Reagan and consummated with Bush II - in four short years of either candidate - or eight for that matter. Even if one of them had the intellectual ability (and Obama does) the American people don't have the fortitude or the will to pay the price for solutions. In short, we're not going to solve these problems - we're going to put band-aids on them or postpone them for our dear children.

I have to mention...that I have, on many occasions, mentioned something about driving us over a cliff. I was right. You can't begin to appreciate the delight I am taking that the realization has hit right now just before this election. And not to put such a dark cloud over things, there is at least one good thing out of all this, the Bush toadies have been very quiet recently. It's a small thing but it counts.

 

The last time we had a semblance of an energy policy was in the 1970s. We had a chance at fiscal responsibility eight years ago and we turned away. We took a look at health care and chose profit. Do you see a pattern? I could go on but what's the point?

I'm with scoutldr on the costs and retirement scene, very similar situations. But we chose to have famiiies and retirement is always - ALWAYS - a fantasy that some are lucky enough to achieve. He and I may not retire. Oh well, tough luck, it's not as if retirement is some kind of entitlement. We made our decision and in spite of all that is going on, things could be worse. Heh, heh, there's a really good chance that we'll see that.

 

In short we elected a long time ago to side with the unseen hand and market forces. We elected to place ourselves and our lives on a similar status with the goods and commodities that we demand from the same market and then....we stand in wonder that the unseen hand treats us the same way. Wow! Talk about self-deception on a massive scale.

 

So with my black (brown) hat, I say take that hike...metaphorically speaking. Go with Ohio_Scouter's advice. Turn the source of addiction off. Enjoy a book, a visit to the museum, soup with friends, or maybe just some quality time with the family. You haven't lost a 401K, you've lost an illusion. Take heart, there may be more yet to lose.

 

P.S. Was that just TOO negative? Sigh.

[NJCubScouter]

Without getting into any of the specifics discussed above, this has indeed been a distressing and depressing campaign. Too much "heat" and too little "light" on the issues, way too much focus on trivialities and personalities and on fake issues. Neither side is free from blame for this, although I do think more of the irrelevancies and unnecessary negativity has come from that side that I'm not supporting.

 

Add on top of that, I live in what has apparently become one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country. It has been held by Republicans for years, but has been targeted by the Democrats this year and the polls are very close. We have probably received at least four mailings per week for the past two months and the tv commercials have been completely ridiculous both in number and in negativity. Many of the commercials, on both sides, have been far more negative than even the worst of the presidential campaign ads.

 

So I, also a political junkie, have also pretty much had enough for this year. Fortunately it will soon be over.

[gwd-scouter]

It's like watching a car wreck - you just can't turn away. Home alone this weekend and unfortunately suffering a lupus flair so limited in what I can do. I did wash the dog, take her for a good long, although slow, walk. Tidied up the kitchen. Did some laundry. Took several long naps. Read the Scouter forum. Watched a few Daily Show reruns. Enjoyed a couple of old movies - The Picture of Dorian Gray - I just love that one!

 

With the exception of the Daily Show reruns, yesterday was a politics-free day. A nice day.

 

A thin blue layer of not 'real America' blue surrounded by a sea of Red - heh, heh, I like that. Being a Democrat in South Carolina, especially in my small town, is a bit lonely. McCain-Palin yard signs everywhere. I've only seen two Obama-Biden signs. Back in the day when I vociferously argued against invading Iraq, my Bush-supporting friends came right out and accused me of being un-American. Back then, if I mentioned I was voting Democrat, I was accused of being anti-religion and pro-abortion. That last one really upset me - as if I was standing out in front of a clinic yelling "get your abortions here, line up, two for one, bring a friend."

 

Nice.

 

You're right Pack, most of those Bush folks that were in my face in 2000 and 2004 have been unusually silent through this election season. There are a few that question my support of Obama, but their arguments are simply against him (inexperienced, socialism, a terrorist, a Muslim, etc.), nothing said strongly in favor of McCain except he's got experience. My hope is that these folks are not representative of the country's population as a whole. I still (perhaps naively) believe that Americans make up a more purple map, rather than red and blue - us against you.

 

On a different issue - I was actually thrilled when the gas prices kept rising last summer. I thought we would finally get serious about a sustainable energy plan. Now, the prices are coming down. Will we do what we did in the 70s? We had an opportunity then to get real about energy, but gas got plentiful and cheap so the highway speed limit was raised and our cars got bigger.

 

Whichever candidate becomes President, I seriously doubt he will be able to do much to improve our situation in four years. Maybe stop the bleeding and stabilize things. I just can't see how either could reduce the deficit or balance the budget in four years without raising taxes, or at least not reducing them, and cutting entitlement programs. In essence, Americans are going to have to suffer and pay some stiff prices now and I just don't think we're willing to do that. Americans will cheer when they hear "we have to cut spending and reduce entitlement programs," but don't touch their social security or medicare.

 

That will leave us with another election in four years that quite possibly could be even more divisive than this has been.

 

Oh my, such doom and gloom - and I am usually a glass half full type of gal.

 

[she reaches up and slaps her face and says 'get over it' girl.] Ah, now I feel better.

[funscout]

If Bush supporters are not vocal about McCain, then why does Obama think McCain and Bush are so tied together?

 

I am for McCain, because he is stronger on my top 3 issues:

1. Following God's laws

2. Strong National defense

3. Keeping taxes lower

 

I was and still am for Bush, even though I disagree with some of his policies. McCain was NOT my first choice - I wanted someone more conserative.

 

Also, I still talk to my Democrat friends about why they should not vote Democrat. So, if you lived near me, you would still hear a Bush supporter being vocal about the election.

 

When I saw an Obama sign go up in my friend's yard, I actually cried. I know she is a devout Christian, and I am sad that she is going to support abortion with her vote. I am not angry with her, I feel sorry for her. God will know who she votes for, and she will have to answer to HIM some day, why she supported the killing of babies.

 

My support of McCain is not so much that I think he will be one of the greatest presidents, but rather because he stands for the issues that I believe in. Obama goes against my top 3 issues, as well as several of my lesser issues.

 

I, too am tired of politics, but I can not rest just because I am tired. Those babies have no choice, so I hope all you tired people out there will think about the unborn babies when you vote.

[BrentAllen]

I tell our Scouts - do your best to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Today, that means living on less than you make, paying off your debt, starting to save more. If you have trouble with trying to do that, I strongly suggest checking out Dave Ramsey. His Financial Peace University and Total Money Makeover plans offer inspiring instruction to help get your financial house in order. The more Americans who do this, the fewer Americans who will need the government to help them out. Land of the free, home of the brave. Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps. And if you are already sure of who you are going to vote for, turn off the political shows! Save your sanity!