Like anyone who is following the election, I’ve been pondering a lot of things, but most of all, who I think the best running mates will be for each of the candidates.  This is just my humble opinion, the wife of the man who is into politics, or used to be, and I may be way off, but it just seems that for the Republican Party, Mitt Romney would fill in the wide-open gaps that John McCain has.  As a republican would this be my ideal?  This election I am afraid is falling short as far as there being ANY ideal, again, JMHO.

For the democratic side, it probably goes without saying that Hillary Clinton would be the best choice for Vice President.  The mantra this election is CHANGE, how much change can you get than the first black man and the first woman elected as President - Vice President.  Do I want that change?  No way, and it has nothing to do with race or gender, not one bit.

I am not excited about the coming election, lack of excitement leads to lack of blogging.  I don’t see excitement in my husband, either.  So I’m contemplating a change in what this blog is going to be all about.  Watch and see, some changes may be on the way…they are still coming together in my mind.  I’m thinking of moving toward an even more “opinionated” format, and some may not like it, but that’s okay.  More exciting that way.

I guess it’s pretty obvious by now I’m a casual blogger, not jumping on every issue that comes down the pike, and blogging when I’m inspired to do so. Maybe keeping up with several other blogs has a bit to do with it as well.

To state the obvious, in the 10 days since I last posted, Hillary finally said her reluctant “goodbye“…and she really has been silent, hasn’t she? Of course all wonder what her next move will be, will she be on the ticket with Obama, the “dream team” as some democrats and the media like to call it? The thought of it turns me off, not because I am a republican, but because I think that she is far too manipulative, and might do all she can to overshadow Obama.

In the past 10 days a familiar, smiling face will no longer smile at us in person, but only in our memories, through pictures and television…of course I am referring to Tim Russert, who’s wake was in Washington DC today, a closed casket…I like that, it is best to remember him as he was, alive, full of energy, smiling. What a loss, my prayers are with his wife, son, and his father, Russ, made famous by Tim’s book, “Big Russ and Me”. What deep loss must be felt by all. It was kind of a blow to me as my hubby, the inspiration for this blog, suffered a heart attack (he’s doing fine) one year ago ON Father’s Day. I’m feeling extra fortunate to still have him with me.

There have been some town hall meetings…I’ve watched a couple, until the two candidates are face to face, they will be “more of the same” to me….rehashing of the same things over and over again, with slight changes and variations as they form their positions…at least I assume they are still forming them.

Stupidest (is that a word?) thing I saw was just today, the new anti-McCain ad by MoveOn.Org, it’s on their site if you want to view it. It’s based on the idea that McCain will keep soldiers in Iraq for an undetermined amount of time..shows a mother appealing to McCain on behalf of her baby boy who is sitting on her lap, as if when he is a man, McCain will TAKE him from her. Since when are we TAKING soldiers? We haven’t had a draft since Viet Nam, and no one is twisting the arms of soldiers to enlist in the service. They join by CHOICE. Stupid, stupid ad.

In the meantime, prices of oil keep rising, natural disasters keep happening, now airlines will be cutting back dramatically, the stock market remains unstable, the far-reaching affect of so many things is hard to predict.

But still, America is the greatest nation in the world, I really do believe that, we’ve been through hard times before, and God has blessed us. Do I dare say that if we keep forgetting Who has blessed us, keep forgetting to thank Him, keep expecting men to do what only God can do, some of that blessing may be removed? That’s a topic for another day. Good night for now.

When my brother and I were young children, and we got in a fight about something, and our fights could be pretty nasty at times, Mom would take us into the living room, or other room in the house, and tell us we couldn’t go out and play or do anything until we were no longer angry. The way we had to show we were no longer angry was to show some kind of affection for each other, like a brotherly/sisterly hug, in front of Mom. Let me tell you, when you are steaming mad, the last thing you want to do is give each other a hug, so that was pretty good evidence to Mom that we were no longer mad.

Well today, that was the first thing that came to mind when I heard that Dianne Feinstein had Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama sit together with glasses of water in her living room while she, supposedly, went upstairs to work, hoping the two would take steps toward resolving their differences until Barack called up to her saying his goodbyes.

I must admit the picture of the two of them in a room together in a similar situation as my brother and I experienced as children gave me a good laugh today, and seemed to once again show that, unless things change dramatically, the Democratic party is quickly becoming a childish, and embarrassing party to be associated with. Just MHO.

Now the big talk is the Hillary speech tomorrow…will it be another I I I me me me speech or will she finally be able to give Barack the spotlight he deserves?

I have watched all day as the delegate count increased for Barack Obama, bringing him to the magic number by the time we were ready to sit down to dinner. Then had to run out to vote at our very local primary, then back home to watch the speeches.

First McCain…I know he can do better, and know he will. I though that he spent a lot of time focusing on the negative aspects of Obama…believe me I’m not a political strategist by any means, but thought it might be better to NOT list every issue he has that opposes Obama from the start…drag it out a bit, don’t give “the enemy” your position from the start so he knows how to respond where it hurts.

Then there was Hillary….the word “I” was the main focus of her speech, I …. I… I, it was an “all about me” speech, given with a brilliant smile, and no indication that she’s finished campaigning…there was a time that I admired her persistence, but at this point it borders on…no, it’s moved over the border to the point of ridiculous. But should it? I guess if I’d won the popular vote, and as many states as she has, I’d find it hard to give up too…we’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Obama, I have to say that he gave a commanding speech…I don’t agree with all of it, and as you know I’m usually a republican voter, always have been, but am a little bit confused about what I am this election. My hubby keeps reminding me that I’m a Republican, so I’m going to just have to be happy I have him to guide me, and hope things become a lot clearer for me personally in the days to come.

So here we are…at last.

The end is finally here…sort of…at least the end of the Democratic primary campaign season.  After adding to the number of delegates that Obama and Clinton would need to FINALLY finish the ongoing democratic battle with the decision about what to do with those Michigan/Florida delegates, Obama is closer than he was before the decision to having the number of delegates needed.

Is Hillary going to concede in her speech tonight?  Will she finally realize that it’s time to stop and let the process go on?  Can she let go of her dream?  We’ll see when she makes her speech tonight.  It’s all over the media today…generally believed she will concede that Obama does have the delegates…but at least at this typing, will not give up the ongoing competition with Obama.  We’ll see…more later!

Wishing Senator Edward Kennedy our very best wishes as he undergoes surgery for his brain tumor this morning at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. Surgery is scheduled to start at about 9 am, 15 minutes from this typing, so I’m sure he is sedated and comfortable at this point. After recovery, he will undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Our prayers go out to you, Senator Kennedy.

At least not in November.  Yes, Hillary gets some delegates…from Puerto Rico?  What’s with that?  I really DO NOT get what is going on with the democratic party, but will say it’s made for some great entertainment, that’s about all…but don’t listen to the news every day, it’s kind of like a soap opera, the story doesn’t change a lot and progresses VERY slowly.

I probably got my explanation wrong yesterday about the DNC decision about what to do with Florida and Michigan…after all, I am “married to politics”, hubby is supposed to know more about this, and does, and when I go off and try to explain some things on my own, it can be dangerous.  Anyway, nobody came out a winner on the deal, but as I said, great entertainment!!

So is this all going to finally end sometime this month? And are we going to get on with the REAL campaigning?  I’m hoping so!