It’s not because the first black candidate is on the ballot this year. I’m sure Obama has worked very hard to get where he is, but his color and race are of no concern to me as a voter. His lack of experience and blatantly Marxist views are very important to me. McCain barely warrants comment, because he is a pale carbon copy of similar views, with Iraq being his only redeeming policy. He also seems to be doing everything he can to loose the election half the time. The fact that most American voters don’t care enough to know anything beyond the latest sound byte is depressing.

The thought of Obama working with a Democrat majority in Congress is frightening. I always complain that Congress doesn’t accomplish anything of merit. I suddenly find myself hoping that they will accomplish even less in the future. Nothing suddenly sounds much better than the alternative. No legislation is better than bad legislation, but that has always been the case. I’m afraid that all our representatives will find themselves able to pass bills when they know they won’t have any opposition.

On the other side of the ticket, we have John McCain, whose only redeeming quality is his military service. That alone, however, is not qualification enough to be President. I absolutely refuse to forgive the McCain-Feingold CFRA. Also, every time I see one of his ads, it sounds like a Democrat wrote it. So, up until recently, I didn’t have a candidate in this election.

Now that Bob Barr is in the race, I couldn’t be more excited. Although I disagree with Barr on Iraq, we differ on minor points not significant enough to discourage my support. Also, it is the only point on which I disagree with Barr. I disagree with Obama on everything, and with McCain on nearly everything. For the first time, I have contributed to a campaign and signed up to volunteer. The following reasons will explain why I support Bob Barr.

1. A truly viable third party candidate is running this year. I do not buy into the wasted vote mantra of the Republicans. This is not a popularity contest, it's a presidential election. Principle and philosophical reasons are the only criteria for voting. It's nice to have a candidate worthy of my vote.
2. I’m tired of voting for the least offensive candidate. In the past I’ve had no candidate I supported on most issues. The only reason Bush got my vote last time is that Kerry was worse. Everytime Bush signs a bill into law, he makes me regret my vote for him.
3. Most importantly, Barr supports smaller government, personal freedom and lower taxes.
4. The American voter as become complacent. Although I am concerned about terrorism, I am more concerned about my government and my liberty.
5. Barr has valid experience and supports Federalist principles. I am willing to accept that he has learned from past mistakes and genuinely means what he says. I can’t think of many politicians who live up to that standard.
6. The major parties have become virtually indistinguishable and won’t change until they get tossed from office.

I am very interested in the results of this election, probably more than any previous election since I started voting. It will be an interesting year. As a political artist, and Libertarian, I can’t paint fast enough to get all the ideas out of my head. Barr is doing a great job breaking onto the national scene and exposing the system as broken. It’s very encouraging to see him doing so well, so early. I have no delusions that he will win. It’s not about winning, it’s about changing the system. Raising awareness is the first step.

I just finished a book on Hillary that really gave me some insight into her personality. The woman is repulsive.
The name of the book is American Evita: Hillary Clinton's Path to Power by Christopher Anderson. How any one could vote for this woman is beyond me. The hypocrisy and blatant dishonesty are astounding. I hope we never have a woman President if it means having someone like her in office. It reinforces my amazement at people who vote foremotional reasons rather than political. The fact that she's a woman is inconsequential, and voting strictly along party lines is ridiculous as well. People need to learn to do a little research and find out what the candidates are really about. This woman goes on about poverty  and the evils of capitalism, but she's reaping the reward of millions on her books and shady deals and I haven't heard anything about how she's helping anyone out other than herself I'm not saying she should give it away, but she should stop talking about the need for people to "give up a little bit of their own turf in order to create a common ground" until she starts taking her own advice. Maybe she could start a boarding house for the poverty stricken in one of her two million + homes. And if she's so worried about global warming, she might stop driving around in the Yukon.
Well that's allI have time for now. Does anyone have any recommended reading on Hillary? I'm doing research for a painting and could use some more info. I'll take suggestions from all points of view because I like to know what the other side is thinking before I start being critical. Wish me luck when I read It takes a Village,I know it's going to give me an ulcer (I'm a stay-at-home mom). If you have a book suggestion, send it to frances@machinepolitick.com. If you're interested in my completed artwork, check out my site www.machinepolitick.com,  I also have some opinions on there for each painting and would love some feedback.

I am interested in getting a point of view on art that is not liberal. I am an artist and I feel very strongly about politics. I would say I most fit into the category of Libertarian, but disagree with some of the nuttier people in the party on things like the border and Iraq. I realized, at some point, that no matter how much I would like the government to leave everyone alone and do its job, that's not likely to happen.
So, being passionate about both politics and art, I decided to see if  I could put the two together and see what happens. I like to think I'm doing some pretty cool stuff, but I don't get good feedback from the art community. I suspect they don't like my point of view. All us artists are supposed to be bohemian and enlightened. I was even advised that I should focus on general problems and the ecstasies of human existence - whatever that means. Pretentious nonsense I think. And there's no bigger general problem in anyone's life than the government trying to nanny us to death and pretend that those evil rich guys will be the only victims.
Given the bias against my opinions in the art world, I was hoping someone could give me some advice on how to reach people who would be interested in my work. Being the nasty capitalist that I am, I'd like to sell some of it. I have no intention of being a starving artist. Any advice?
If you are interested in seeing my work in order to give your opinion of it, my web site is: www.machinepolitick.com Thanks in advance for your time and opinions, even if you hate my work. I've gotten used to that.