I love being able to vote early. When I got there, there was one person voting and four folks in attendance. I was happy to see a printed ballot instead of the voting machines. And I'd done my due diligence and had a little list of the folks I'd decided to vote for in those weird races like Commissioner of Agriculture. If only I'd been passionate in favor of one of the presidential contenders. Or if I'd had a real conviction that one was most likely to defeat the Current Impeached Occupant*. But I don't, so I voted for Warren, whose wonkiness and spirit I've long admired. I like some better than others; none are perfect. I don't like Bloomberg at all--partly his past history but mainly because he seems an awful lot like the guy we've got in the White House now. And I hate to think that we are going to end up with a system where only billionaires need apply. (In the past week we've gotten three mailers from Bloomberg.) Thomas Friedman's op-ed in the New York Times made a proposal I really liked: What if, it said, whoever is the front runner promised to choose a running mate from their rivals and appoint all the other candidates to Cabinet and other important posts? A team of rivals and a national unity ticket with something for everyone. It sounds like a feel-good movie from earlier times. Swelling music, rippling flags, hands of all hues clasped in unity. I've been fantasizing about this for some while -- the candidates meeting privately and deciding to put egos aside and do what's best for the country. Wouldn't it be loverly?
