Enough, Already!

Enough already! Up until about a week ago I awoke everyday yearning to hear what was happening with the Presidential election. But enough is enough. Maybe my yearning to be free from all the commercials started after the Obama Infomercial. It was great TV. He did a spectacular job of explaining what he was about and even if It’s not what he’s about, it didn’t matter. I want him to be our leader and yes, our saviour. Too much to ask? I’m sure it is, but at this point why not ask for a miracle and deal with some disappointed expectations later.
If I hear John McCain spend one more minute whining about promises made and broken, the lack of proving Obama can do the job, or the fact that Sarah Palin is the most qualified woman in America, I will simply boycott television. And in the same way, I just don’t want to hear about anymore Change. I’m tired of hearing about what’s going to happen in the next four years, I just want the next four years to happen – without anymore chatter, yammering, or paid political advertising. We all know what each of the candidates is going to say, and of course, approve, and now they both need to do events and get off the airwaves. Anyone who hasn’t made a decision by now is not going to vote—it’s just that simple.

So last night I was trying to go to sleep and every 4 or five minutes there would be another political commercial. I started to think about how much money the candidates have spent in making sure we all understand what they think, feel, and yearn for. Then I started to think about all the people who have made a fortune delivering the message. From Mark Penn, an absolutely talent-free, but incredibly lucky PR person, who flushed Hillary's campaign down the toilet, and for whatever reason she didn't fire when she had an opportunity to recover, to the Obama team who have seemingly done a swell job in getting him to where he is - leading.
Let me be clear, I love the Obama commercials where he talks about hope and prosperity, and a future without war. I like the commercials about McCain and Bush being one in the same. I liked the old McCain, but there hasn’t been an ad which was about what he sees as the future. They are all about what Obama isn’t rather than what McCain is. I remember when I sent chickens out to greet George Bush Sr. during the Clinton campaign. I told the guys in the war room that it was their job to talk about why Bill Clinton should be President and mine to demonstrate why George shouldn’t be reelected. The candidate should never talk about why someone else is bad – they should only talk about why they are good. I fear McCain made a terrible mistake.

Regardless of how I feel about any specific political ads, I am just tired of all of them. In addition, I am sick to death of the phone calls reminding me I should vote, and the door to door canvassers who, despite the fact that I tell them I have already voted, just don’t want to go away. I thought maybe I should offer them a cup of coffee, laced with a little humor, and maybe that would encourage them to go away. But you see, it’s Presidential politics 24-7, and I have had it. I am no longer nice when I get a call, I merely hang up. I am no longer cordial when they appear at my front door—I just don’t answer it. And if I don’t TIVO a show I won’t watch it – even Cold Case and Bones, which are my favorites. In fact, I am only watching movies on TV – uninterrupted and commercial free.

I used to love setting the clocks back and gaining an hour, but now it’s just more time to listen to someone droning on about November 4th. I suppose a three day nap is out of the question, but I’d love to go to sleep and when I awake we would finally have a new President. Lullaby and goodnight. We're just sayin...Iris