Convention Notes 2012: Democratic Convention Caveat

Before I begin (tomorrow), I'm going to confess that Barack Obama lost a great deal of my goodwill at the beginning of this year.

To retrace my steps: I did not vote for or against Obama back in 2008. I didn't--and don't--agree with many of Obama's policies, but I believed (1) that a democracy can survive a trial leadership; and (2) Obama was a gentleman.

I still believe (1)--that's kind of the point of democracy. I don't so much believe (2) anymore.

At the beginning of this year, before Romney even was confirmed as the RNC candidate, Obama and his people started going after him--at a personal level. Attacking a candidate's policies are the norm; both sides do it. Attacking a candidate personally, unfortunately, is also the norm. But I had agreed to the idea of Obama as president solely on the basis of his claims to being able to cross the aisle. His knee-jerk, angry, and reactionary response to the possibility of Romney's candidacy disgusted me. I consider it unprofessional, dirty, and frankly ungentlemanly. 

Currently, the DNC has been running ads in Maine about how people shouldn't vote for Romney because he's wealthy. I hate this type of politics-- really loathe it. It is illogical--an ad hominem fallacy that preys on the populist notion that wealth=fat cats=bad people. It has nothing to do with whether or not Romney has good ideas for how to run the country.

Granted, to a degree, all campaigns are run on hot-air. But I find it easier to cope with politicians when they don't pretend to be something they are not. Romney is well-off. So is Obama. So was Obama before he ran for office. Comparative-wealth-schomparative wealth: they both make WAY more money than me. Obama trying to sell himself to me as some kind of gosh-schucks-everyday guy who gets my pain just burns me. I'd rather talk to Bill Gates.