As a rule, I dread it when the general election rolls around, mostly because people are lured into their living rooms and become glued to the television set until what little bit of individuality they had left gets soaked up by all the political pundits who, by the way, change their views more often than they change their underwear. One day they hate Hillary and praise Barrack; the next day, John McCain is their man, even though they are against the war. It's hard to tell where any of them stand on any of the issues; yet, there they are up close and personal every time you turn on the tube, offering sage advice as if their predictions are scientifically sound. As I try to listen critically, my brain begins to hurt. It reminds me of middle school. You know, the cliques and social divisions that go on forever: Republican/Democrat; male/female; senior or underclassman; white/black; straight/gay; educated/uneducated; rich/poor; Christian/Jew/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist/Scientologist/ag nostic/atheist; fat/thin; funny/boring; cerebral/carnal; optimistic/pessimistic. Like I said, the list can go on forever.

So how does one person suppose to emerge from all this heap of so-called "individuality" and rise to the top as a representative of the people as Commander-in-Chief? It's impossible. No matter who wins, some portion of the general population is going to feel disenfranchised, if not abandoned.

For the past decade, each election year in Florida has become more and more interesting. In 2000 the ballots were miscounted, in 2004 President Bush's brother, Jeb, was governor, so we knew what results we would get; and in 2008 the primary was moved up several months on the calendar so that the Democratic National Committee in their infinite wisdom has decided not to acknowledge the Democratic votes at all. I wonder what 2012 will have in store for us. Will we be allowed to cast a vote at all?

Since Florida has a "closed" primary and my neck of the woods seems to be predominantly Democrat, I couldn't understand how they were managing to hold onto a Republican majority. Then a friend said something to me one day that piqued my curiosity. He said, "I did something today that I never thought I'd do. I voted for a black man." That puzzled me because I know he has very republican sentiments. Well, it took a while for my dense brain to sort it out; but I finally figured it out. My theory is this: everyone registers as a Democrat, votes for the Democratic candidate most likely

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