Too much plenty

Sometimes I wish I was a slacker. This is one of those times. Tomorrow Dr. Reverend Johnny Edwards and his Miracle Faith Telethon of Love will be coming to Our Fair City. Wednesday President Bush will be here. I have to be at work.

Sometimes it's fun to be a swing state. Back in 1988, when I was in college, both major political parties had multiple candidates during the primary season. Reagan's V.P, George H. W. Bush, eventually got the nomination, but he had competition. And of course there were plenty of Democrats running besides Michael Dukakis. For some reason--I don't know if we had an early primary, or what--but that year in Our Fair City you couldn't go out without bumping into a presidential candidate.

Steve and I skipped class to see Bob Dole--an event forever etched into my memory because of the presence of a local high school swing choir entertaining the crowd with their own version of "Raggmopp."

I say B
I say B-O
B-O-B
B-O-B-B
B-O-B-B D-O-L-E
Bob Dole! Doodly-oo doo-doo-doo-do!

You get the idea.

Poor Bob Dole. He must have been embarassed. I'm sure that swing choir was the reason he dropped out of the race before the day of the Wisconsin primary. He probably saw it as a foretaste of the feast of tackiness to come. I voted for him anyway.

Steve went to see Al Gore, and was quite impressed. But that was the 1988 version of Al Gore. The conservative, pro-life version. Steve also heckled George H. W. Bush at a stop here. During a pause in Bush's speech, Steve yelled out "Bob Dole, not George Bush!" and he's certain Bush heard him and became somewhat flustered as a result.

I also saw Dan Quayle later that year after he was added to the ticket, and I thought he was a terrible speaker. Got to see him again in 1992 and was quite impressed by the improvement in his public speaking abilities. I've always liked Dan Quayle, mainly because I could relate to the "Potatoe" incident. I lost a spelling bee in the 4th grade because I added the "e." Brother, I am with thee!

But I digress.

This year Bush and Kerry and Cheney and Edwards have been all over the region, either right here in Our Fair City or within a short driving distance. If I hadn't already skipped out of work once this summer to go see the President, I'd definitely go this week. And yes, I would like to see Dr. Reverend Johnny Edwards, too. But instead I will be at work.

It's great being a swing state, I only wish I was a slacker so I could enjoy the benefits.