Holding my nose once again

By Michael Fraase

Tuesday, 04 November 2008 11:51AM CST

Section: Politics

Hold your noseLong ago, when I became a member of the Green party—having never previously been a member of a political party—I promised myself I’d never hold my nose and vote against my conscience ever again. I haven’t, and, frankly, that hasn’t worked out so well.

So this year, I’m finding myself holding my nose again. I’ll be voting for Barack Obama—and that’s not an endorsement—with anything but enthusiasm. Obama is a moderate-right centrist, not the leftist portrayed by the right and the corporate media. Moreover he’s a politician, and while certainly deft, not an especially atypical one. Don’t believe it? Here’s a simple example: Obama supports universal health insurance, not universal health care. Need another? Do the math on Obama’s “wealth redistribution” plans.

I took a vacation day because this is a historic event. Historic not solely because of the first bi-racial candidate for president but mostly because this is the year that the citizenry starts voting again. For the first time in a long time more people will vote this year than don’t. That’s worth celebrating, I suppose, in an ineffably dark and vaguely depressing way.

But tonight—tonight is also historic in that it’s the first time Bob Dylan plays at the University of Minnesota. I’ll be spending the evening in Northrop Auditorium, main floor section 5, row 35 on the edge of my seat. And that’s definitely something to celebrate.

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