I just voted. Or rather, I just filled out my ballot and will go mail it in a little while when I go do my marketing, which I generally do after 2 AM.
The last few elections have fallen on inconvenient days for me: I was outta town or in meetings. That's why I became a vote-by-mail person but I've discovered an advantage I hadn't thought of. The election is over, at least for me. I don't have to read any more about the propositions. I don't have to listen to the candidates trashing each other and trying to make something out of nothing.
What I saw of the gubernatorial debate last night here in California seemed to steer clear of silly topics…like what can be done to solve the state's problems. Instead, they talked a lot about how someone in Jerry Brown's office was overheard calling his opponent, Meg Whitman, a "whore." That's rude but…I dunno. I have a hunch someone in Ms. Whitman's office at some point may have called Jerry Brown an asshole and had the good fortune not to have it get recorded. In any case, Brown apologized a couple of times and Whitman could have scored a few points with me (though not enough to get my vote) if she'd said, "Fine…apology accepted. Now, let's get on with much more important things, like how to get California back on the right track." Instead, she tried to make the whole election now turn on that, darn near suggesting Californians should vote for her because some unnamed person in Brown's presence called her that. Brown, who I generally like — I think he was a fairly good governor his last go-round, better than any since — talked way too much about Whitman's housekeeper. "Vote for me because my opponent is a bad person" doesn't go very far with me. I'd still like the candidate I vote for to have a little competence.
But you know what? I don't have to spend a lot of time thinking about all this now because I've voted. It's especially helpful in terms of all the ballot initiatives. Some of them are quite confusing and I could read up on them from now 'til Election Day and not be sure if those ones will be yes or no. It's quite liberating to decide you've read enough and it's time to commit and stop researching and mulling. Which I have done. I've marked my ballot, stuck it in the little privacy envelope and put the little privacy envelope in the bigger envelope and sealed it. If I can just remember to put a stamp on it, my voice has spoken.
It's done and off my mind this way…and you might enjoy it as much as I think I do. Just because "they" say the campaign has to run six months doesn't mean you can't end it for yourself after five.