Politics and Fire Sales

The world has gone crazy.

Have you noticed?

Under normal circumstances, an election year is craziness at it's worst. But add in an economy that seems headed straight for the toilet, ages old banks filing bankruptcy and prices rising faster than flood waters and it makes one stop and think......

What the hell is going on?? What should we do??

I'm completely flummoxed this election. I typically have very strong views on politics and am opinionated in my beliefs (my husband is nodding his head and saying "that's an understatement" as he's reading this, I'm sure. Whatever.) But this year, I'm truly up in the air. Obama's a nice enough guy, I'm sure. He's charismatic and seems to inspire hope in many people. That's great, because hope is something we seem to be lacking right now. I think he should be applauded for winning the Democratic nomination and trying to steer the country in a new direction. But, I just get a very uneasy feeling about him. The country is in trouble and we need a strong leader. I'm not saying he can't do an awesome job as President. I'm saying I'm not sure he's the right person for the job under the present circumstances. I wish I knew who he planned for his Cabinet, because maybe knowing who would be there to counsel and advise him would make me feel more comfortable. Or not.

I can't vote for John McCain. His entire political belief system is so different from mine (and seemingly very different from his platform when he ran last time - when I might have voted for him had he gotten that far). He was never really an option for me. And choosing Sarah Palin as a running mate did not capture this woman's vote. Quite frankly, I'm offended that someone assumes I'll like her and vote for her simply because of her gender. There is not one issue on which Mrs. Palin and I share similar views. We are polar opposites and if I am slightly uneasy with Obama, I'm scared to death of this woman. Many people in Alaska seemed happy with her as Governor and they are welcome to have her back.

{I did watch the SNL skit with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler (and it ranks right up there with Alec Baldwin's SNL "Schwetty Balls" skit about 9 years ago) I watched it five times and each time was in hysterics...}

So now you see my problem. I don't know what to do this election. It really bothers me. Not that it keeps me awake at night or anything, but I do think about my quandary often.

I have decided that I will not make any judgements or decisions until I watch the debates. I don't watch the conventions, because to me, they are just one big advertisement for whichever party is convening at that time and it's easy to sound confident and strong when you have a convention center filled with hundreds of people cheering for you and putting you on a pedestal. The debates, while not ideal, at least give me a better sense of the candidates (although there's no Tim Russert moderating this time, which is so sad....) The best case scenario would be if each of the candidates came to my house and sat down on my back deck with me and answered all of the questions I have about their stance on the issues. I'd throw out little "what if..." scenarios to see how they'd handle certain situations. And if they didn't answer they way I wanted, then I'd push a button and off they'd go through a trap door and the next candidate would come in and we'd start all over again.

And Wall Street! Good Googamooga! I hope my generation doesn't experience what our grandparents and great parents generation experienced during the depression years. My Gram always hoarded everything - cases and cases of food, soda, toilet paper, etc. (it was unbelievable - truly it was). She saved tinfoil and Ziploc bags and would wash them and use them again. Gross, I know. When I went out on my own, I swore I would never hoard things as she did and although I don't waste things - I certainly am not saving tinfoil to use again.

I am, however, thinking about the future and planning. Not that I have a lot to "plan" with, but what I have, I want to protect. These are scary times, and I for one will be tightening our family belt, be as conservative as I can with our finances and try to weather the storm.

So, I'm off to continue thinking about what I'm going to do come election time and to start tweaking my budget and cutting unnecessary items....like...um....oh, who knows - maybe I'll just start saving tinfoil. But if you see me fashion a hat from it and start talking to aliens, you might want to call someone.....