My girlfriend used to be a Republican.  I don't really understand why considering how progressive most of her views are, but she claims she was.  She now calls herself an Independent (a transition that was occurring even before the Bush years).  She is presently a wavering McCain supporter... but possibly wavering no more.  With McCain's recent statement about the supreme court habeas corpus ruling, he may have driven the final nail in the coffin of his support in this household.

More over the flip...

We have a unique opportunity this election.  The remaining candidates are both sitting members of the Senate.  That allows us to go beyond just examining their stated platforms to actually compare their voting records.  Furthermore, since Clinton is also a senator, her supporters have the opportunity to compare each candidate's voting record to Clinton's.

Recently I was talking to a friend about the Dem primaries.  I expressed my concern about the apparent animosity between Obama and Clinton supporters in the blogosphere and my suspicion that some of the worst offenders might actually be Republicans in disguise.  He got sort of quiet as I mentioned this, seemed like he wanted to say something and then steered the conversation in another direction.  My friend used to be a Republican, but the Bush years shoved him to independent status.  I assumed he found my suspicion a little bit insulting, and I thought no more about it until a couple of days later when I got an interesting email.  Details over the flip.

It is rare, but occasionally I am driven to bursts of poetry.  It has been a few years, but tonight, while killing time in a hotel room in Austin while on a business trip, thinking about all that has happened to our nation the last seven years and what this next election means... I was driven to write the following.  For me, writing poetry is a bit like sneezing... its an involuntary action that is over with quickly and I'm not usually happy with the results.  Nevertheless, here it is in its raw, unrevised form over the flip.  Feedback is always welcome.