Condo-sleez-a

I heard an excerpt from the MLKJ day service in Harlem on the radio this morning. The service was attended by Mayor Bloomberg, borough presidents and all kinds of other NYC mayoral hopefuls. Quite a few locally interesting things were said, but I caught someone talking about the Condi Rice hearings that started in Congress today. They said something like, I may not agree with your politics and policies, but you being in the position you are is a result of everything we've all fought for. This is what is so frustrating about the Republicans and Democrats. Ok, so minority Republicans are creepy and I really don't understand it... BUT, the fact remains that Bush has a cabinet of unheard of diversity. The Democrats got themselves into a real pickle when they decided they couldn't oppose Gonzales because he would be the first Latino Attorney General. Come on, guys. It becomes beyond frustrating when you realize that all of their actions come only from a place of fear.

We won't rock the boat, we won't ask for too much, we'll concede when necessary (necessary will come up often, but "necessary" or what?) We won't stand for anything: we're pro-choice if it'll get us the vote, if not we don't care. We would prefer not to have the death penalty... but come to think of it... Gay marriage, well, aren't civil unions practically the same thing? We like gun control, but making a BIG stink over the expired assault weapons ban... is that really where we should be focusing our energies. And so we stand for nothing, not even as a viable alternative.

And even the Republicans stand for something, as gross and conniving as it might be. A few months ago, I realized that if in 2008, Elizabeth Dole ran for President against some John Kerry-type candidate... I would vote for her. And really only because she is a woman. There are superfluous supporting reasons as well, but essentially, I think that would tear down a huge access wall for all kinds of people and, well, mainly because she is a woman. Condi Rice doesn't get that same kind of automatic support, at least from me. I have a hard time buying a smart, African American woman from her background believing what she does. Like something in that equation must be false. The American dream, at least in my mind, isn't supposed to leave you so creepy. And with such a horrible haircut. I think I feel aversed to her, also, because of a classic Jungian rejection of what I fear in myself. Do I hate her because she is smart, successful, hated and utterly alone? There are joking allusions to an affair between her and Bush (and we can all tell he does have an alien fetish. See: Laura Bush) but we know this will never happen, she will only get hurt. He doesn't love her. And she still has a horrible haircut. She will soon be Secretary of State but at the sacrifice of her womanhood. And that scares me. And I reject it because by further ostracizing the ostracized, even in my head, hopefully I will never, ever be anything like her.
I used to think a lot about what we ask of people. And I was very into the idea of determining what people in your life are able to do for you, and only asking that of them. As oppsed to becoming disappointed by them when they fail to what you wish they could. This is the problem in politics- here we are wishing the Democrats to run a better candidate, be strong enough to stand up for higher ideals as well as what we all need.... but they can't and we need to accept it. This means instead of being best friends, we need to acknowledge that we do better as periodic coffee-buddies and go out and meet some new people (trying to avoid crazies.)
Or I guess there's always revolution... but here in my personal corner of the revolution the people are mean and the office is too hot.