Most of the time, I despise politics with the same sort of loathing that cats have for water, but with less subtlety.  However, I’ve actually come around this year to feeling something really unexpected and odd… a sense, shall I say, of an actual shred of respect and a feeling that.. dare I say it… I might actually vote for a candidate that I like, as opposed to disliking less?  The distinction is important, you know; in 2004 I voted for Kerry with the sort of enthusiasm that I would go to get a root canal: kind of painful, but still important.  I mean, the root canal was better than the alternative, which was a continuing infection in the tooth, leading to an abscess and possible amputation of the jaw.  But a root canal still hurts, dammit.

This year, though, I feel like I can actually vote for Barack Obama not because I dislike him less than the other candidates, but because I actually have a positive like for him.  I feel inspired by his speeches.  I feel like he actually has a grasp on the issues that I care about: things like poverty, education, technology, science, and so on.  The man knows what he’s talking about, too, and doesn’t sound like a buffoon who slid through college on C’s and Daddy’s money.

So this Tuesday I will happily cast my vote for Barack Obama, and I will actually do it without cringing.  That sense of approving of a candidate may change, but for now I think I’ll enjoy it.

Up until now, I’d been wavering between Obama and Clinton.  I like Hillary Clinton, and I think she’d be a respectable leader.  And I love the idea of a woman as President, and I’m thrilled that we finally have a serious woman candidate for the Presidency.  But even ignoring the issues of the baggage she’d bring and the inevitable Republican smears that will come along, I still think Obama would be a better leader.

I must confess that it was Jonathan Coulton who tipped the balance for me.  I mean, if a geek pop singer who sings songs like "Skullcrusher Mountain" and "Re: Your Brains" will actively endorse a candidate, then I gotta listen.

Well, okay.  It was that, plus Obama’s "Call to Renewal" speech from 2006.