Political Aspira-gus

(on airplane back from Minneapolis)

Something is wrong with my brain. Two weeks of force-fed political dogma and I’m bleeding a bit at the ears, but I just can’t stop. Can’t stop thinking about it, seeking out the latest news, reading commentary – classic trainwreck syndrome. Again and again, I keep wondering, ‘what would I do in elected office?’

And then I think, ‘hmmmn.’

I get an F- in small talk. Definitely don’t suffer fools with charmed patience. I cringe at the thought of shaking an endless sea of sweaty palms. Smiling for too long gives me a migraine. Babies all cry when I touch them, and I’m no Obama when it comes to speechifying. In short, I would be a terrible politician.

But that’s not true. I’ve thought about it. My motives are true, and though my ideas are strong, but I’m not so hubristic as to think they’re all correct. There’s a lot of geography between bleeding-heart liberal and soulless conservative, and I’m all over that map.

With a few exceptions, that is. The environment. Energy policy. Healthcare. Not so flexible on those. So it looks like I could be president of a city block in the middle of Berkeley, California, if I’m lucky.

Back to my apolitical drawing board (which looks a lot like my garden).