Why do I hate the dentist?

#1  He tells me I have cavities. And frankly, I don’t believe him. He just wants my money.

#2  When I go to get my “cavity” filled, they stick a nasty rubber dam in my mouth and I feel like some sort of Star Wars reject freak.

#3  I can’t think of anything I enjoy less than making awkward small talk with hands, rubber, tools, etc in my mouth.

#4  My mouth is numb and I look stupid.  I hate the dentist.

So, Senator Clinton had a big night last night. What I hoped would happen, obviously, did not. I’m not going to talk about delegates, or spin, or anything. In fact, I’m going to try and fast a bit from this race- and here’s why:

I want to like whomever I’m going to vote for in November. I’m not going to vote for McCain- I’m just not. So, that leaves me with Clinton and Obama. 6 months ago I was pretty excited about both of them. Then, the more I learned about Obama- I threw my support behind him, and I felt great about it. Still do. However, the more this campaign has gone on, the more I’m having trouble liking Clinton. It’s the whole ‘fighter-win at any cost’ attitude that kept me and politics apart for so long.

I don’t want to hear her say “We have the momentum now!,” when a few weeks ago she said, “It’s not about momentum, it’s the numbers in the end that matter.” I’m sick of her accusing him of plagiarism- (then using a obviously scripted line to prove a point) and then basically stealing line for line from her husband in her closing remarks- DURING THE SAME DEBATE! I’m tired of her claiming she won Michigan- when Obama wasn’t on the ballot. I’m sick of her staff touting tons of foreign policy experience- then isn’t able to provide any examples themselves. And I’m sick of people pointing out to instances where the public couldn’t name any accomplishments of Obama- because 1) that just means they’re lazy and 2) they never follow up asking them to name any of her accomplishments.

So- I’m tired and this debate. Which is too bad- because this is the first time I’ve becoming involved in a real way. My wife said last night very astutely that she has lost interest. Not because she isn’t excited about Obama anymore, but because these are the very politics she (and I) avoided for so long, and they now seem unavoidable. My father is a huge conservative. The kind that listens to Limbaugh and watches Fox News 24/7. Which is fine. But it was exposure to that which caused me to steer clear of becoming involved. I didn’t want to carry around a walkman everywhere I went so I wouldn’t miss Bill O’Reilly’s next comment.

Obama made me feel like we could live in a happy, little political fantasy world. I was wrong. It isn’t all Hillary’s fault- everyone has dipped their toes into the waves of stupidity here. But I do feel she brought it there- and for that, I just don’t like her at all.

So- my plan is this: To stop paying so much attention to the campaign(s). To stop reading the headlines on msnbc and cnn. To stop turning the TV to the cable news networks when I get home at night. That way, maybe- just maybe, come November whoever is the Democratic candidate can look exciting and inviting to me. Maybe a 3-4 month political fast will be enough time to digest and dump the bad taste in my mouth right now. Maybe.

It seems like everyone I know is sick. Currently my wife and I are both hanging out in sweatpants watching Ellen- laying around like sadsacks. Actually, I’m not allowed to be that pathetic right now. I have work to do- calendars to create, postcard mailings to get ready, mission trip meeting planning to do. Etc.

Ever since I was a little kid, part of me was always wanting to get sick. To have a sick day. A day where everyone sympathizes with your plight and has no expectations of you fulfilling any of your responsibilities. A day on the couch watching The Price is Right while dozing off every couple of minutes between rounds of Plinko and Cliff Hangers- because I can.

Unfortunately, sick days suck. You feel like crap, the Price is Right is probably going to be preempted by some tornado in Yugoslavia, and the only guest on Ellen that day is some freaking bubbly chef  Whoop De Doo.

Yay sick day?