Vote this.

I don't usually write about political issues. I hate to even talk about politics because it bores me to tears and there are as many opinions as there are people in this country. As far as I'm concerned, in my own personal opinion, not much changes in this country when a new president is elected-- except for the nameplate on the desk in the Oval Office.

I have, for the longest time, said that what this country does not need is another politician. What it does need, in my own opinion, is someone real, someone who has worked from the bottom up without the benefit of being fed with a silver spoon, someone who can see that this country is running itself to the ground, settling for mediocrity instead of striving for excellence, someone who can admit that the school systems need to be fixed because if we're not going to properly educate the next generations, then we might as well just pack up the country now and be done with it.

And here comes Barack Obama. Not a politician, in my opinion. Someone real, who has certainly worked his way to the top even with all the obstacles that life and society has tossed to him along the way. He's a gentleman, who seems to me to have aimed for excellence, kicking mediocrity out of his way with every step. And he has indeed admitted that if this country can't pay teachers a decent wage, then we're not going to have good teachers, and our schools will fail, our students will fail, and our future will fail.

I watched Obama's speech last night from the stadium in Denver. That man can speak. Speak, with a capital S. I hope he gets elected, I hope his dreams of a newer, better country come to be. I hope Obama continues to be a man, not a politician. When the signs are posted here at our local library for "Early Voting," I will be one of the first on line. I want to vote early, before the library lawn is covered with political signs, before the lines for voting wrap around the library in November.

And this morning..... John McCain has announced his running mate. Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin. I laughed out loud when I heard his choice. Not because I think the governor from Alaska isn't up to the task-- I have never heard of her, I know nothing about her. What made me laugh was that last week, I told my husband that the only way McCain could compete against Obama was to give the Vice-President spot to a woman. Mc Cain had buried himself, in my opinion, especially with his remark last week about $5,000,000 (five million dollars!) being the measurement for "rich" in this country. Does that mean that anyone having less than five million is in the middle class? Can McCain be that far removed from society? That far removed from the people he wants votes from?

Why did I think McCain would pick a woman? Because, "my friends," (to quote McCain) he is a politician, through and through. He wants to win, period. Whether he's good for the country or bad for the country, that doesn't seem to matter. Winning is all that matters. And having a woman running as his Vice President is going to give his campaign the kick, the spice, the extra something that he needs. Because, lord knows, McCain can't hold it together on his own.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Even if I had intended to vote for McCain, his VP choice would have changed my mind in a heartbeat. And speaking of a heartbeat, this governor from Alaska, who has just two years of an elected office behind her, will be a heartbeat away from the presidency, as the saying goes. And wasn't McCain and his party complaining about Obama not having enough experience to be president?

Give me a blessed break. Give me Barack Obama. And I swear, if I have to hear McCain say "my friends...." one more time, I think I will just scream.