Election Obsession

My name is Catootes and I’m an election news junkie.

For someone who paid scant attention to politics prior to the debacle that was the 2000 elections, I’ve become completely consumed by this one. I try to catch CNN once or twice a day. This action actually befuddles me, even as I press the select channel button, as I think most TV news programs are basically infomercials at best. I read online news voraciously, all day long. I can’t go more than an hour without checking into the NY Times, Drudge, Huffington Post, Google News and my local online presses, just to see if something else has popped up in the news sphere that will shed insight on the direction this election will eventually lead. Because we all know, anything can happen.

Absolutely anything. Sarah Palin, for example.

I was so riled up during the debates, my kids rolled their eyes and left the living room, when I would let them escape, so as to not be in the same room with possessed being that had displaced their mother. At a recent dinner with my In-Law’s, we started to discuss the choices of Obama and. McCain. As I am an ardent Obama supported and they long time conservative Republicans, this conversation got quite energetic and loud. Giggles piped up to remind us that we were all family and words like that should not be said at the dinner table. It’s a good thing I have a solid relationship with my In-Law’s, as this could be a schism of unconquerable dimensions.

The next several days of anticipation are going to eat at my insides until there is a nothing but a seething acidic dank hole where my stomach once held residence. This whole month has been one long experiment in anxiety for how this will all resolve. Much of the year flew by on the wings of a busy life but this last month has been grinding ever so slowly, it seems, to that day so many of us been waiting for since W. stole the election.

Given the strong stances and comprehensive dialogues I’ve seen exhibited by other bloggers and the absurdities coming through what should be legitimate news sources, I am not the only one being consumed by the fire of this election. I’ve been conveying to Ace and Giggles, to their utter subject fatigue, that this will probably be the most important election of their lives. But when you’re 13 and 10, this kind of thing is hard to grasp as a long-term view. I insisted they watch the debates and listen to me read news articles that are relevant to how this election impacts their lives. Much to my In-Laws despair, their political education is strictly slanted toward liberalism. I hope when my kids look back on this moment, they’ll remember the passion, engagement and wonder exhibited by a country standing on the precipice of hope and history.

Intervention may be necessary for me when this whole thing is over and we know what the future holds.