I guess that's democracy FTW.

Wow, I threw up in my mouth a bit when I read that. Our Democracy is so broken that I don't think it can ever be repaired. To whit - if you're a Democrat, was Obama your first choice? If not, was your first choice even still a choice by the time the Primary came to your state? Even if he or she was, your vote for all intents and purposes was only a suggestion for the Superdelegate to consider. This is democracy? If you're a Republican, was McCain your first choice? (God help you if you say 'yes'.) Chances are, your choice was made for you long before you ever got to cast a single ballot. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't view having 2 backwards states in which the first primaries are held telling me who I get to vote for when my turn comes as a free democratic process. And if you are an independent, then you have my sympathies, as no one you ever support will ever have a chance in hell in our rigidly and arbitrarily 2-party system.

I'm all for the electoral college, as it is based on sound fundamental principle, but can someone please explain to me why in the name of Superman if Texas or California's popular vote is 51% to 49%, the electoral votes for that state end up 100% to 0%? Can anyone explain the logic there? If you are a Democrat in Texas or a Republican in California, why in God's name would you even bother showing up at the polls?

I could go on and on, but the biggest reason in my view that our Democracy is beyond repair is the constituency itself. Look, I'm thrilled that the race barrier to the presidency has been broken down once and for all, but did it have to be in the case of someone so phony, disingenuous, and shady as Barrack? This guy is an empty suit, long on promises and speechcraft and short of any ability to actually do anything of any import. The man was a member of a militantly racist and anti-American church for twenty years, and never saw any reason to leave (At least until it looked like it could hurt his campaign). I can't be the only one who gets chills down his spine thinking of that. He hypocritically expects all of us to "share our wealth" while his own family members rot in squalor here in the US and abroad. He blatantly lied about not accepting campaign donations. He has shown repeated lack of fundamental knowledge about how the US and it's governing system work under the Constitution.

I would like to think that the reason he won so handily is that, well, let's face it - my dead grandmother could have beaten McCain in a popular election. But I am not so naive. For far too many people, the number one consideration for choosing him was the pigment of his epidermis. On the flip-side, all too many people who voted against him did so based on the same consideration. When something trivial like that, and not what is best for the country, is someone's guiding light for making such a monumental choice, I think that we need a lot more than just a black President to fix race relations in this country.

Bah, enough of my ranting. At least until next election!

This comment was edited on Nov 5, 2008, 17:29.