election election

this election is drumming up some major conversation. people seem politically aware/engaged. more so than usual. maybe it is the just the limited pool of people i know. but i think not. this morning on my way to pilates, i overheard a young woman (maybe early 20s) talking on her phone about the latest obama & clinton debate. intelligently. with concern. with some passion. wow.

this year's election will give u.s. poli sci profs a lot of fodder for discussion: young people caring & voting? media coverage? inter-sectional identity politics? there is a lot to talk about. frankly, i only have a broad brush understanding of the issues. & i don't see that changing much over the next 6 months, unless i really make efforts to dig under the babble. doubtful.

for any voters born in 1981 or after, there has been a bush or a clinton on the ballot. surprising but not surprising.

1981-1989: ronald reagan & george bush
1989-1993: george bush & dan quayle
1993-2001: bill clinton & al gore
2001-2008: george w. bush & dick cheney

too bad jeb bush isn't running this time around. jeb bush v. hilary clinton would be a mind-blowing cross-dynastic battle.

my interest in the election has been primarily media-coverage related. despite personal feelings about hilary, she's faced some mean (personally mean) criticism. but she makes an unlikely victim, doesn't she? so not many seem sympathetic. i just don't think her crow's feet, shrill voice, man-like pantsuit wearing, helmut-hair, crying or not crying, cheating husband-taking back, etc. matters. in terms of P.R., the woman can't win. she wears a v-neck and omg she might have breasts. she wears another pantsuit, and she's not feminine enough. she doesn't cry. she cries and she's a manipulative jerk. not quite a man, not quite a woman. maybe the U.S. population isn't ready to elect someone transgendered. or maybe it does matter. it's not like stephen harper, with his lego-man hairstyle & too-short pants, really exudes a personality. i think charisma matters. charm matters. it matters in everyday life. of course it matters. obama has it in spades.

p.s.

for reasons inexplicable, i'll always have a soft-spot for paul martin, though. his wrinkled brow, weight of the world on his shoulders look reminds me of my dad. even his laugh is dad-like. i bet he tells corny jokes and his kids roll their eyes when he hits the dance floor. he still keeps an ugly three-piece suit in the recesses of his closet for old time's sake. he's loaned money to his good-for-nothing brother who will never pay him back. his kids don't call. come home late. smell like cigarette smoke. paul martin's time in office was a disaster. scandal after scandal. mishap after mishap. but i still have warm feelings towards him. would i elect him? nope.