Be careful what you wish for.

Democrats should remember these words over the next couple of months. While George W. Bush is certainly a lightning rod of Democratic hatred and contempt, and has ended up on the wrong side of so many issues as to virtually guarantee a loss come November 2, those who have come to hate the President simply because of the "way he looks" or his corporate history, rather than his current policies, are making a big mistake.

I'm the first to admit that Bush is not exactly a smart man. He lacks communication skills - there's evidence he screws up personal, one-on-one communication as much as he falters in speeches to large groups - but is this a reason to vote him out?

He's also shown a remarkable inability to be compassionate. I couldn't care less what anyone has to say on the matter - a Constitutional ban on gay marriage is one of the most ANTI-CHRISTIAN acts our government could possibly commit, and should never have even been contemplated by any of our country's elected officials. I find Cheney's executive role in the party that proposed this bill to be revolting, considering his gay daughter.

Toss in an Iraq here, bad economy there, lack of contrition everywhere, and its most likely lights out for Bush come November 2.

But let me tell you why this isn't great news for Democrats. Being President of the United States means you not only have to deal with domestic policy issues and master international relations - both of which Kerry can do - but the President also has to have charisma and a sense of dramatic flair. This is the age of TV and the internet, after all, and a boring Kerry could lull Democratic hopes into a long-term coma.

With actually compelling Democratic Presidential candidates coming down the pipeline in 2008 and 2012, such as O'Bama from Illinois and Hillary Clinton, a Bush defeat could allow Kerry to thoroughly convince the nation's vast moderate constituency that electing a Democrat isn't such a great idea after all. It would be an ironic end to this political era for the political careers of these two people, with marks of true leadership and charisma, to be derailed by none other than George W. Bush.

So while Democrats rally against Bush with historic fervor and ferocity, don't let the long-term implications a lackluster Kerry tenure could cause get lost in the shuffle. After all, you gotta be careful what you wish for ... you just might get it.

Lots of change over the next few months, and certainly over the next year...getting married next summer, launch of the AHSIMC behemoth in just a month now, escalation of promotion behind "Maintain Radio Silence"over the next year, as well as school! And looking for a job next summer! Lots to do!!

I recently discovered this song and it really captures the feeling of questioning what's going on in life at any given moment. Not so much doubting that we are on the correct path, but just kinda taking a step back and looking at the big picture of life, and wondering WHY.

My faith in God only makes me want to ask "why?" even more. I am amazed that my years of prayer regarding my personal life, as well as prayer for the ability to contribute something to the world around me, has been answered in the incredible way it has at this point in August 2004. But it just makes the question of "why?" that much more compelling. Maybe over the next year, it will start to become clearer.

And with my grandmother, the last of my grandparents, on her deathbed even as I write this, the question of "why" takes on a different meaning. Why will she not be able to see me get married? Why does she have to suffer, dying a slow death to cancer?

And of course, I could just as easily ask why has she been allowed to be such a valuable part of my life for so long ... much longer than some people get to have family around them.

Its exactly what John Mayer's asking here. For now, we wait and wonder - and be so grateful for what we do have.

2005 will be a great year.


"Why Georgia" - John Mayer

I am driving up 85
in the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon...
just stuck inside the gloom.

4 more exits to my apartment,
but I am tempted to keep the car in drive...
and leave it all behind.

Cause I wonder sometimes about the outcome
of a still-verdictless life.

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right??
Am I living it right?
Why ... why Georgia, why?

I rent a room and I fill the spaces
with wood in places to make it feel like home...
but all I feel's alone.
It might be a quarter-life crisis,
or just the stirring in my soul.

Either way...
I wonder sometimes, about the outcome
of a still-verdictless life.

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right??
Am I living it right?
Why Georgia? Why?

So what? So I've got a smile on?
Its hiding the quiet superstitions in my head.
Don't believe me when I say I've got it down.

Everybody is just a stranger
but that's the danger
in going my own way.

I guess its the price I have to pay.

Still, "everything happens for a reason"
is no reason not to ask myself:

Am I living it right?
Am I living it right??
Am I living it right?
Why? Tell me why...
Why Georgia? Why?