Some people seem to stride through life with complete surity and purpose. They part their hair with precision in the morning. They don’t dither over the menu in McDonalds. And they always vote with a party, because they are quite sure that the other side is a)a bunch of Northeast pansies or b)armed, white guys in pickup trucks.
Then there are those who have to dissect every issue finding nuances and contractions. They struggle with decisions such as bar soap or liquid soap, ranch dressing or spicy vinagrette, and at what age do mini-skirts finally become a no-no. These people don’t fit neatly into any ideological group or party and this election is driving them bananas.
They might like Bush’s foreign policy, but hate his social policy. They might like Kerry’s economic policy, but his tax bracket might be a turn off. Oh, there are trade offs, and those who see the world as grey, rather than black and white are having a hard time this election (but they probably always do).
Since I gravitate to the tortured people, here are some posts by bloggers who have endorsed a candidate, with qualifications:
Dan Drezner — Kerry
Megan McArdle — Bush
Andrew Sullivan — Kerry
(more to come)
Apt. 11d 
They might like Kerry’s economic policy, but his tax bracket might be a turn off.
Then they should dislike Bush more…Bush and Kerry are both in the highest tax bracket.
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I can get extremely indecisive.
But I can’t tolerate certain things, either, and the religious mentality is tops on my list. Some people believe there is no god. I feel empowered to say I _know_ there is no god. I even have learned, as a consequence of a half-baked plan to destroy the religions of the world, that the likely story is that the Jews of old didn’t worship a God, either.
I’ve been told enough times that I am brilliant that it is starting to peek out.
But I’ve also seen too many things[1] that other people don’t seem to want to see, or just weren’t paying close enough attention to to catch, to sit easily. A silly example is that one used to be able to do this[2] search in google and get my “conspiracy theory” post on the bombing of the SS Norway. Did Google flush their cache?
Efficiency really sucks for the person lowest on the ladder, since they are always the first to be called to do non-ladder related activities (for it is more efficient this way, fake-smile)
[1] Most notably, that FOX/WSJ picked Dean first, and then Kerry after Christmas, both on the basis of who would be easier for Bush to beat. (I should blog that now,)
[2] norway site:satp.blogspot.com
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42. Never wear a miniskirt after 42. Now, that’s settled, we can move on to the election. They’re both dreadful, close to equally, in their different ways. Maybe it doesn’t matter much who wins.
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re: the tax bracket of the candidates. I don’t know why Kerry’s wealth bothers me more than Bush’s. I guess because we expect more from Democratic candidates. When he’s criticizing Bush’s tax breaks for the wealthy, I can’t help think how much he benefitted from those policies. I heard somewhere that THK only paid $12,000 in taxes last year. Still on economic matters, Kerry is the better choice.
re: does it matter who becomes president? good question. I think it does, but it seems to matter more in terms of foreign policy than in terms of domestic policy I think. There are so many limits on what a president can do. There’s the congress holding a break on action and also an entrenched bureaucracy. One presidential scholar, Stephen Skowronek, writes that there is so much bureaucracy appointed through different administrations that nothing can really happen. I don’t even think that if Bush is elected and appoints a pro-life justice that abortion rights will even change much. Congress would immediately pass an abortion law and the Supreme Court would be completely delegitimatized. Any anti-abortion decision by the court would be as unpopular and controversial as the Dred Scott decision. I bet it’s Anton Scalia’s worst nightmare.
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I don’t know that their are equally dreadful, dave… I believe that Bush has no respect for civil rights and personal liberty. Kerry, on the other hand, has no respect for people, but he does believe in free speech and civil rights (it’s not Kerry who, for instance, requires a loyalty oath from all persons attending his campaign events). I can weather 4 years of higher taxes more easily than 4 more years of increasing government attack on my rights.
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Endorsement: John Kerry
Today Being Daddy offers its first political endorsement: John Kerry for President. Until now, I have largely left the contents of this site apolitical, first and foremost because political convictions have little to do with what kind of parent you ar…
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Topamax and weight.
Topamax binging. Topamax.
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Zetia sideeffects.
Zetia. Zetia side effects.
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