Pace Yourselves, People

[editorial note: all humorous references to my lack of salary were written with my own blog in mind, where this post was originally published! I'm not trying to put the financial squeeze on Papamoka!]

It is a presidential election year and, already, people have lost their minds. Well, pundits and pollsters have lost their minds. They are people, right? Here are some things you should keep in mind as we lumber towards November. Some are tips and some are just observations. I'll give these to you in a handy list form so that you can print them out and tape them to your wrist. That way, you can refer to them when you feel yourself start to hyperventilate.

• Chris Matthews' mouth works a lot faster than his brain does. Yet, he is still getting paid. By the way, I do this gratis.
• No "Political show" or "political segment" of any news show is going to offer you any substantive information on where any of the potential candidates stand on any of the issues. If you are looking for an in-depth examination of the candidates' respective positions on issues, woe is you. The candidates themselves would be happy to tell you about it (to some extent), but you'll have to visit their respective websites and do a little research on your own. The pundits are far more interested in bringing you news about campaign strategy, campaign finances, campaign in-fighting, campaign barb-trading and all the lovely things that make our candidates look so immature. Yet, these issue-averse pundits are still getting paid. I, on the other hand, do this for free.
• Occasionally, you will get to see a 5-10 second clip of a candidate's or candidate's spouse's stump speech, followed by a "talking head" explaining to you what you just heard. Lawyers are especially good at this job. It sure would be good work if you could get it. Anyway, these "regurgitative talking heads" get paid for their appearances. Did I mention that this is a salary-free site?
• Hillary and Obama Agree to Make Nice for the Good of the Party. File that headline away. You're going to see it again. Maybe a couple of times.
• John Edwards is still in this race. Remember him? Edwards still hasn't figured out how to make his passion not look so "angry." I feel your pain, John. I have the same problem myself. I also wanted to say to all of you folks who thought Kerry's endorsement of Obama (apparently without telling Edwards he was going to do that ahead of time) was "classless," grow up. Did Edwards tell Kerry that, after he announced his candidacy, whenever he would be asked about Kerry in interviews he would, basically, throw him under the bus. It wasn't overt - it was the smirk when he hesitated to answer the question, or the way he "implied" that the ticket had been upside-down all along. I saw him do such interviews more than once. So, if you think Edwards was surprised by Kerry's not endorsing him, I have to disagree. I'd say those two parted ways a long time ago.
• For anyone who is wondering how some Republicans would make us "energy-independent," don't think "new technology" so much as "an open ANWR." And, not for nothing, look out coastal Carolinas. This is just a guess on my part, of course. Oh! Oh! Or, how about maybe possibly, "invade Iran, make it a 'colony,' take over its oil fields, thereby turning 'foreign oil' into 'domestic (sort of) oil.' " Oh, I know ... that's just crazy talk [the original version of this post singled out John McCain unfairly since he voted against drilling in ANWR; with respect to McCain and the Iran quip ... you tell me. JW].

There is no perfect candidate. There is no silver bullet. Our problems are shared and they are tremendous. If you think your responsibility in facing these problems ends with your vote, you couldn't be more wrong. I suggest we all start trying to find something we like about each of these candidates, because right now, this is the hand we have been dealt. It's time to get your minds right. It's time to prioritize the issues and to really understand them. It's time to be visionaries. We are the country. I'd like to tell you that television media is going to help you with these Herculean tasks, but I won't lie to you. Pace yourselves, people. The road back is long and rugged.

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Originally posted at Vim and Vinegar by Just Wondering.