It's true. I know that policy is important, but when it gets right down to it, I really turn up the radio when the process story comes on. I love the polls (I've thought about making pollster.com my home page), and I have probably spent as much time wondering about which candidate would make the best contest then which candidate would make the best president. Other people have sports, I have politics. My college playoffs come every two years, and my super bowl comes every four. I love to watch. On the political highway, I'm the guy twisting my neck around and slowing down traffic while he does it because he wants to watch the crash. But as much as I love process stories, I know that policy is more important. And so, after the leap, a belated new years resolution.
On this, the first true day of the primary season (it feels good to finally be here), I, Nameless Soldier, promise to do my very best to care more about who is right then who is winning.
I have to be honest, in my strange little personal religion, "Iowa Day," is a sacred holiday. I love it. After months of unnecessary coverage (even me, with my insane addiction, am a little hung over from the politics binge of the last couple years), today there will be news that actually predicts something real. I turned off the news to write this diary, and it's actually hurting me inside. For all of the problems with the Iowa caucuses (cauci?), I love the exercise.
And that is why I've chosen this auspicious day to make my resolution. My hope is that this diary will mark the end of the vicious candidate diaries. (I realize that it will actually be because the Iowa caucus is over, but I'm going to take credit anyway. Hi, I'm Nameless Soldier, and I stopped the primary wars on dKos in 2008. It's be a great pick-up line that the ladies won't be able to resist.) We may not know who the candidate will be at the end of the day, we may not know after NH, we may not even know until March (it's an unlikely, but a junkie can dream). But we'll be a lot closer. What matters is that we are all Democrats.
In 2000, I was too young to vote. In 2004, I watched but didn't participate. In 2008, now that I'll be out of the army soon, I'll be participating like a mad man. I don't care who gets nominated. I have been able to pull myself away from process long enough to know that there isn't a serious candidate in the party who's policy isn't better then every one of the Republicans. And that's what I'm going to be telling people over the next 11 months.
Of course, if our candidate starts moving too far to the right, I'll say something. If for some reason, the policy coming from the nominee becomes off-kilter, I'll be there to point it out. That's what caring about policy means. As much as I sometimes treat it like one, this isn't a football game. This isn't a situation where you root for the home team no matter what. This is real life. Men and women can, and will, lose their lives depending on who gets elected in November, some of my friends might be among them. It matters.
And so, on this great day, I hope you will all join me. And in joining me, I hope you'll keep me accountable as well. Like a smoker trying to quit, it's going to be tough, but I'm going to do it. This is an election we can, and should, win. Let's not muck it up by getting so engrossed in the contest that we forget about the eventual victor.