Super Tuesday, coming right up!

Well, I've kept it pretty light for awhile. Time for a political post, don't you think?

You probably know that I consider myself somewhat liberal. I'd call myself somewhere in the middle actually. Center left I guess. Pretty conservative about some things. Pretty liberal about others. I'm married to a conservative guy whose libertarian streak has rubbed off on me ever so slightly. Or is it just that I'm getting older?

On that note, I don't personally know anyone who has said to me that they support Donald Trump, although I probably personally know someone who does support him, because I personally know a lot of people, and he's somehow the Republican front-runner. Right? It's math.

Anyway you may remember the bones I picked with Mitt Romney last time through, when I thought he moved way too far right during the primaries. But Mitt Romney and his binders full of women are looking pretty good these days. Yeesh. Am I right? On that note, Matt and I watched the documentary "Mitt" a few years ago and I recommend it. I really liked him a lot more after seeing it.

So you may also know that I'm going with Hillary Clinton this time. I voted for her in 2008 too. Does she have some baggage, yes. Are her explanations of the  $$$$ she's accepted completely tone-deaf, yes. Was she amazing as a Secretary of State, no. Do I agree with her on everything, no. But it is what it is, and no other candidate on either side comes close to impressing me, so I fully support her, because on the issues I care about (these days that's guns, foreign policy, women's health, children's rights, and education), she's the one who has experience and who I think will come through. I don't like Bernie Sanders all that much, I'm not a socialist and I'm not impressed with his not being "owned" by anyone... because as Bill put it, of course he's not owned by anyone, he's been cryogenically frozen his entire career. No offense, Vermont.

I loved this, by the way:

http://www.theonion.com/article/female-presidential-candidate-who-was-united-state-52367

So yes, I like Hillary. But be it Hillary, Donald, Mitt, Barack, Bernie, Mario, any of them... I think this quote (from Neal A. Maxwell's talk "The Tugs and Pulls of the World") applies:

"Granted, some sincerely wish for more power in order to do good, but only a few individuals are good enough to be powerful... Craving power and the spotlight sucks out the spiritual oxygen, leaving some “past feeling” (see Eph. 4:19; 1 Ne. 17:45; Moro. 9:20). Strangely, though desensitized, some are still able to hear the beckoning click of a TV camera at a hundred yards. Doesn’t the churning over the places of mortal power remind us of the childhood game of musical chairs?"

Ugh. That would be any politician, including the ones I "like," but especially the ones that are also reality stars. UGH. UGH!!!!

"...Some who laboriously scale the secular heights find, after all, that they are only squatting atop a small mound of sand! They have worked so hard to get there!

"But why covet wealth anyway, if we only “spend money for that which is of no worth … [and] which cannot satisfy” (2 Ne. 9:51).

"Like Jesus, we can decide, daily or instantly, to give no heed to temptation (see D&C 20:22). We can respond to irritation with a smile instead of scowl, or by giving warm praise instead of icy indifference. By our being understanding instead of abrupt, others, in turn, may decide to hold on a little longer rather than to give way. Love, patience, and meekness can be just as contagious as rudeness and crudeness."

So I don't actually expect the leader of the free world to be all that much "like Jesus." It would be nice, but that's not that person's job anyway. That being said, I feel that a little more understanding is in order. And a little more patience, and a lot less rudeness and crudeness. AND a lot more detail about realistic plans for the future. And a lot less self-obsession, vengefulness, racism, bigotry, unabashed hatred and general ridiculousness under the guise of "not being politically correct."