It's no secret...

... that I don't like President Bush. Everything about the man grates on my nerves-- his politics, his simplistic view of life, his pronunciation of the words "America" and "nuclear", his backing by PNAC, his shady background of insider trading, failing oil companies that made money nonetheless, going AWOL and having daddy cover it up, cocaine addiction, and his scant political background in (let's face it) the easiest Governer post in the US since Texas is set up so that the Governer is little more than a figurehead. I hate that he has negated, nullified, or created large enough loopholes for corporate buddies so that he might as well have negated or nullified, nearly every environmental regulation the US has. And I hate that he has hidden those moves under pro-environment names like Clear Skies Initiative, and Healthy Forests Initiative. I hate that he lied to our country about the information he used to go to war in Iraq (although granted, I think I'm a little more angry at the American people for falling in line behind him and calling people like me--who pointed out that the intelligence that was published at the time was very clearly forged or misrepresented since it said the exact opposite of what Bush and his cronies claimed it was saying--unpatriotic wackos who should just get the hell out of the country). I hate that Bush has fought tooth and nail against the grossly underfunded 9/11 Commission every step of the way, and invoked the tragedy of 9/11 to pass some of the most distructive legislation our country has ever seen.

But what I hate most about him is that I truly, truly believe that his is just too simpleminded to realize what exactly he has done. I think most of this stuff happened because of the people standing behind him (most of whom are in PNAC), because I really do believe the Bush, the President of the United States, really just isn't smart enough to see past his good versus evil rhetoric that leaves no room for the many, many complications, points of view, and shades of grey that exist in this world.

So I watched the debates last night, and, my God. I have never been so embarrassed as I was as I watched Bush repeatedly try and fail to articulate a clear thought. I was cringing, I had my hand over my mouth, shaking my head, feeling so embarrassed on behalf of this man. And I whispered over and over to the screen, "Honey, just stop talking." But just like when I was watching the movie Swingers, wanting so desperately for dude to stop calling the girl over and over again, Bush just wouldn't stop talking, and he kept saying stupid things that were complete non sequitors to the topic at hand. He just wouldn't stop.

And I guess that says a lot about his Presidency. He just keeps plugging right on, being a daft fool and making terrible mistakes, but he keeps right on. Because he has to. Because PNAC tells him he has to. And you know, whether Bush is or not, PNAC really is (I am not exaggerating) trying to take over the world. And PNAC owns this country so long as Bush is in office.

I do have to say, though, on Bush's behalf, he did manage to pronounce the word "vociferously" correctly. But what he said was that the Iraqis "were fighting vociferously". I mean, what does that mean? They're too loud? Are they keeping him up at night or something? I don't get it.

Regardless, I'm feeling better about Kerry. Not because I like his policies, because many of them I do not. In many ways, I think Kerry and Bush really are on the same side-- not even two sides of the same coin. The same side. But I do think that Kerry is smart enough to understand the implications of everything he might do while President, and that is far more than I can say for Bush.

But I still don't know that I'm going to vote for him. Illinois is a liberal state, and I think Kerry will win here regardless of who I vote for. So maybe some third party candidate will catch my eye because s/he believes in what I believe. And maybe that third party candidate will get five percent of the vote so that next election, I won't feel that I have to vote for a lizard just so the wrong lizard doesn't get in.

And if anyone got that lizard reference, my hat off to you. Douglass Adams rocks.