On a More Personal Note

I've been getting bogged down in politics. It's hard to avoid because I love it, but I don't want it to become all consuming. For those who love my political banter, don't worry. I can't resist being an armchair pundit.

However, today I'd like to just catch up on my personal life for those of you folks who actually read this. The countdown to delivery is getting dramatically smaller and smaller. I used to count this in months. Now it's weeks. Five weeks to be exact. It's fair to say I'm freaking out a bit.

It's a whirlwind of emotions really. I'm so excited to meet my son and be able to hold him in my arms and look into his eyes. I can't wait to see him in Caroline's arms. Our love grows more and more everyday and he's not even here yet!

I visit the message boards on Babycenter.com. There's actually a bunch of message boards for GLBT parents. My signature has a little tickler. It looks something like this:

Isn't it cute? I like to post on the boards just so I can see how the numbers change from day to day. Less than 40 days to go! I can't believe it.

The other part of the whirlwind is fear. I'm so scared something will go wrong like I won't be able to get him out or something like that. I know that's a little silly. I mean, women give birth everyday. It's a job that doesn't require any prior experience. My body will take over. I just have to learn to let that happen and trust that nature knows what it's doing. It's kind of funny that I just think too much. This is just one of those times where IQ plays no part.

So that's where we are today. Baby is weeks away from arrival. Caroline worked on the nursery this past weekend. She dismantled the guest room and put the crib together. Lined up all the Pooh animals. Hung the curtains.

I feel like a house. I'm so huge I can't even remember what it was like when I could bend down and reach my feet. My body doesn't resemble anything I once knew. It's comical at times.

To top it off, I got all my hair cut off. I've been growing my hair to donate to Locks of Love. It's a great organization that helps disadvantaged children suffering from medical hair loss (often due to cancer or some other condition). They make wigs from donated hair. I was moved to contribute my hair after participating in the Race for a Cure in 2006. I wanted to do something more personal in the fight against cancer. And those who know me, know that I'm vain about only one or two things, my hair being number 1. So I thought it would be really significant to grow it out to give to someone else. And now my hair is insanely short! Here's the end result:

The donated hair is actually 11 or 12 inches long, but my hair is a bit curly, so it's hard to tell. I'm sending that pony tail off to Locks of Love today.

Finally, I'll leave you with my most recent belly shot. This is me at 34 weeks pregnant (8.5 months):

What did I tell you? A house.

This Way or That???

I know I'm confusing things with this post, but I have to share this Paul Krugman editorial from Monday. It's nothing new, per se, but it again revists the difference in Hillary Clinton's and Barack Obama's "universal" healthcare proposals.

This is the biggest policy issue I have with Obama. He has demonized mandates which are just plain necessary if our true goal is universal healthcare.

You might be saying, Hey, make up your mind already! I have. Like I said before, I'm voting for Obama. Again, it's about who will win the general election and I think his chances are better. But we have to stay informed on this issue because when it comes before congress, we, you and I, have to act.

Also, Obama's position on GLBT rights is SO much better than Hillary's. I've talked about that before too.

Just a note, check out the links over to the right. I've added a new one called Maryland Politics Watch. I thought this was interesting, but warning, it's PG and Montgomery County focused as far as I can see. The title of the blog is misleading and all the contributors live in the DC suburbs.

Now What? Or Who?

I've been saying for weeks that my vote won't count when the Maryland primary rolls around. Guess I was wrong. But what I'm not wrong about is the threat that is John McCain. And this is what my vote will be about on February 12.

For months I anticipated that Giuliani or Romney was going to be the Republican nominee. In either scenario, the general election was going to be a breeze, enjoyable even. Now, Giuliani is done and after Tuesday, I expect Romney will be too. A general election against McCain will be tough and hardly enjoyable.

Here's the situation. McCain is on his way to winning the nomination. During the Republican debate in California the other night, Romney was constantly on the defensive. It appeared really easy for McCain to be the reasonable truthful one while Romney spent all his air time on rebuttal after rebuttal. Given that the Republican field never had a "favorite," it won't be that difficult for McCain to keep the tide flowing his way.

Even though the Democrats have narrowed their field to two, the outcome is not as certain. It's anyone's guess who's going to take this contest. That's why the ambitious John Edwards isn't picking sides. He's hedging his bets and hoping he'll find a place in one of their administrations.

It's been a rare occasion for us Marylanders to have any say in Democratic nominee. I thought the contest would be decided by now, so I was ready to vote for one of my lefty favorites. Now I have to take this vote seriously (not that voting isn't serious, but you know what I mean).

So how really should one decide between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama? This is the question of the day. Either nominee is historic. And despite what people will say about Hillary Clinton, she is not business as usual. A woman in the White House is change. Barack Obama doesn't have a monopoly on representing change. As a matter of fact, despite his race, a man in the White House would be more like business as usual than Hillary Clinton. Will his race really affect his decision-making? I doubt it. The historic nature of having an African American in the White House means that despite the persistant nature of racism, our country is really moving towards healing the racial divide. Barack could really have a huge impact as president on our racial problems.

Hillary has tried to make the contest about young versus experienced. She knows how to get things done. She has the command of the issues that Barack doesn't have because he hasn't been around long enough. He's a great public speaker, very inspirational, but according to Clinton, it ends there and that's not enough for the next president. Obama says he does understand the issues and he's always on the right side of them. He believes we need inspiration and a commitment to heal our country. He's right. And so is she.

Neither will talk about electability, but that's what we need to talk about today. A year ago, the Democrats were on top. They were starting a new term with Dems in control. The tide of the country was change. We were tired of the disaster the Republicans have made of the war and home. A year ago, electability was not one of our problems. Today, with McCain as the nominee, it is the problem.

And the answer is to vote for Barack Obama. This isn't an endorsement or anything. As I have stated before and implied above, either Hillary or Barack would make a good president. But they have to win a general election first. And that's why Barack is who I'm voting for. I can't take another Republican president. It sickens me. We HAVE to win.

Just close your eyes for a minute and clear your head. Then, imagine a picture of McCain versus Clinton. What's your gut telling you? Now, imagine a picture of McCain versus Obama. What's your gut telling you now? If you're paying attention, you know that Hillary doesn't have a chance against McCain. While the Democrats could swallow a McCain win, Republicans will succede from the nation if Hillary wins. As one pundit has said, Hillary has toxic coat-tails.

Barack does inspire and that is what's going to help him win. Hillary inspires, but she inspires the wrong people. She inspires the Republicans to get off their butts and vote against her. As unfair as it is that Hillary has been judged so harshly, it's the reality. I'm not going to roll the dice on this election just because I think Hillary has been held to a higher standard and been set up to fail.

That's the direction this primary season has taken us. The Democrats are going to make history by electing a minority as their nominee. Hopefully, the country will follow suit in November.