well done, Reg.

there are many differences between people's brands of 'liberalism' and 'conservatism' here, yet we do end up lumping each other in with all the uberpartisan buffoons associated with each major party. i've been watching people here defending against assumptions, knee-jerking back and forth, etc etc etc, and it's been boring me to the point where all i can add is silliness, sarcasm and 'fuck this' i'm going to the mountains'. don't get me wrong; silliness, sarcasm and mountains are still very good things in my book and maybe yours too, but this site's gravity pulls me in more when i see people admitting valid points instead of just counter-attacking and arguing endlessly. we're all looking closely at this country's challenges, just from different angles, and many of them are fairly reasonable. each 'side' has perfectly valid points to make from time to time; there're things to criticize about each candidates' statements vs. actions (and some of the criticisms go beyond personal beliefs). remember, these two guys are hardcore members of the political class, where bedrock honesty and accurate representation of what one is doing/have done tend to fall by the wayside, most especially in an election year. there are different ways of looking at any given situation, there is spin, and there most certainly is slanderous distortion for character assassination purposes. i'll leave it to you guys to have those type-fests.

yes, i've grown disenchanted with the traditional Democratic establishment, but i'm certainly not a fan of the Republicans; i've seen four years of GW and his gang, and i'm disgusted. i suppose my stance on abortion or the environment makes me a 'liberal', but that's a lazy generalization; most of us here are fairly populist, moderate, independant...we've just been forced into supporting and/or defending two candidates that we all know are below what this country needs or deserves. and that's the real tragedy.

and hey Reg, i enjoy your rambling.