I didn’t post yesterday, but not by choice. I’ve been tending my 13 year old daughter who has a cold which has kicked up her asthma (btw, did you know asthma has been on the rise for decades — wonder what could possibly be behind that?).

Obviously, it wasn’t a fun experience to tend to a sick child, but in another sense it was a relief from my intense focus on politics and the news cycle. Presidential election years are inevitably the worst: lots of crap news about crappy, nonsensical stuff which should have no effect on voters’ choice for who should have their finger on the red button for the next 4 years, but which for some reason our media finds incredibly significant. Yet this year, with all the wars, hurricanes, the loss of our civil liberties, the pending economic collapse, the return of voter suppression efforts and the general sleaziness and bitterness of the partisan election campaign (with the interplay of race and gender like never before being pushed front and center on our national stage 24/7), it has been an even more frustrating/infuriating/depressing/stressful experience for those of us who observe the political scene up close and personal.

All the more important for those of us so fully committed to changing the path of our country and returning some semblance of sanity and integrity to our politics, that we take time for ourselves, to rejuvenate our spirits before plunging back into the nightmarish reality that is 2008 America. I hope all of you have a chance to do that today, or soon. Because we are going to need all our reserves of passion, energy and fortitude for the coming days leading up to the election. What we’ve seen so far is only been the prelude for what I expect to be the nastiest, most degrading election campaign in our history (if it hasn’t already earned that “honor”). As always, in an election year, the worst is yet to come.