A bit of political commentary

I try to avoid talking about divisive issues here, especially politics. I know that as a Democrat I'm a minority in Utah, and even among my family and friends. And this election has been particularly charged with emotion. But this article described exactly my frustration with the political process. The author points his finger squarely at conservatives, but all candidates and parties share the same problem. Romney just happens to have made the most recent ridiculous statement. Here's a rundown:

In his speech at the Republican convention, Romney said:

''We need change, all right. Change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington. We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington - throw out the big-government liberals.'' - Mitt Romney, Sept. 3, 2008

And after a bit of ranting, the author states:

Washington is already what Romney wants to make it. Our current state of affairs, love it or loathe it, is indisputably a product of conservative governance. . . . That it doesn't matter much at all you can credit to conservative politicians who have, over the years, trained their followers to respond with Pavlovian faithfulness to certain terms. Say ''conservative'' and they wag their tails. Say ''liberal'' and they bare their fangs. More to the point, say either and all thinking ceases, so much so that a representative of the ideology that has controlled most of Washington most of the last 12 years can say with a straight face that his ideology needs to seize control of Washington to fix what is broken there. And people hear this Orwellian doublespeak . . . and cheer. . . . Turns out, all it requires is a limitless supply of gall and the inherent belief that people are dumber than a bag of hammers.

Like Taylor (not a Democrat), it drives me crazy that elections are more about buzzwords and personality than the issues that really matter. Words like "conservative" and "liberal" and "choice" and "change" are so weighted with politics that they've become abstract ideas that conjure up images so distorted from the reality of everyday life that they've almost lost their meaning entirely.

And this is how we choose our next president. San Dimas County High School Football rules!