Home Alone

I love having a house full of people -- I really do. I like to be the hostess, to cook fabulous appetizers and meals, to decorate, to make people feel comfortable. But today Rob, the boys, and mother-in-law JoAnn are at our niece's basketball tournament and I am home alone. My mental health (questionable though it may be) depends on me having time to myself. To be creative, to read, to just be. I will be ready for everyone to come home in a few hours but right now I am relishing the quiet and my own time.

Since I have some time I want to put this out here for the record before the Iowa caucuses. I have refrained from too much politicking lately here because chances are it will soon become a daily topic. But for right now, here are a few snippets about some of the candidates:

Hillary: I like her. Strong, principled, brilliant. But seriously, between the fact that this country has been led by either a Bush or a Clinton since 1989, and the fact that her winning the Democratic nomination will turn every so-so, kind-of Republican out to the polls so that she DOESN'T win, I think she is not the right choice. Too polarizing, too perceived (by people of almost every political stripe) as being in Bill's back pocket, and have I mentioned that she is a polarizing figure. Yeah.

Obama: LOVE him. Sure, he is fighting the "inexperience" label, but so was Bill Clinton in 1992, and I hesitated but eventually ended up supporting him and I still think he did a helluva job overall. I like Obama because he is charismatic, he can fire up a crowd, he is clearly a) smart and b) smart enough to hire the right advisers for areas where his knowledge base is lacking. I think it is time we had someone other than a white man in the White House. I think a change is in order. I think he could draw people in who have been apathetic about politics and perhaps make people feel they have a real stake in who leads them and that they could feel empowered rather than powerless.

Richardson: I have a friend who interned for him in 1994 when he was in Congress. She had tremendous respect and admiration for him, and I learned a lot about him through her that summer. Another guy who is smart. Again, appeals to a broad base and has tons of experience, lots of knowledge about how to accomplish things in Washington.

Edwards: Smart but possibly a little too good looking. I love his "family values" -- a strong wife, a partnership, looking forward and LIVING rather than surrendering to an illness. A great choice, and I'd love to see an Obama-Edwards ticket. I don't care who's top dog, but I think this is my ideal ticket for 2008.

Romney: Yeah, he's Mormon. Whatever. Not a bad guy, I think, but a little too slick for my taste.

Giuliani: It should be no surprise to my lovely reader(s) that I am not a fan. Face it, he's kind of creepy. And so two-faced with the whole Republican "family values" thing and his marriages, affairs and divorces. Yuck. He'll be polarizing to Dems, though, and pull lots of them out of the woodwork, so he and Hillary would be about even, I think. I still shudder to think of that race.

McCain: I have tremendous respect for John McCain for his service to our country. Sailor, POW, public servant ... but he has sold out to the Bushies for the last few years to remain viable in this election. I hate that. He used to be a maverick -- now he's sort of milquetoast.

So those are my opinions. I am looking forward to January 3. I love an election year, and this one promises to be pretty dramatic at the very least.