As I wrote right in the thick of the Iowa Caucuses, my candidate was swirling the drain. What do you know, New Hampshire came and went and Richardson didn't hang on until Nevada like I thought he would. He didn't endorse, either, because he's still hoping to be VP.

So, I'm down to Clinton, Edwards and Obama.

There was a point a few nights ago where Barack Obama said something that made me want to vote for him. I'd never really experienced that. I'd never heard a candidate say something that flat out made me want to vote for him on the strength of what he or she said. This is from a interview on NPR:

At a debate in Nevada, Obama was asked about his weaknesses. He confessed that his greatest weakness is a lack of organization — a messy desk and office. At the debate, Obama answered the question first, followed by Clinton and former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC).

"I think Sen. Edwards said he was too passionate about helping poor people, and Sen. Clinton said she was too impatient to move the country forward," Obama tells NPR. "I was trying to answer the question 'What's your greatest weakness?' as opposed to 'What's your greatest strength disguised as a weakness?'"

"I should have said I like to help old ladies across the street," he says.

But Obama says he would not want to redo his response.

"I think one of the hallmarks of our campaign is that I actually answer questions honestly and try not to engage in too much spin," he says.

Check out the audio for the full effect. It's about 2/3rds of the way through the segment.

Of course, that feeling faded quickly when Obama and Clinton (and Clinton) started mud wrestling. And then there was the debate. I didn't watch, but from the recaps I saw (and according to people who actually watched), John Edwards won. Media response?

OMFG HILLARY OBAMA CATFIGHT SHE FUCKING WENT FOR THE EYES AND HE GRABBED HER HAIR AND THEN BILL WAS TAKING BETS IN THE AUDIENCE AND SWEET JESUS THEY WERE LITERALLY TRYING TO FUCKING KILL EACH OTHER AND John Edwards was there too. He said nothing worth repeating.

People scream and yell for substance. The media keeps telling us that we want a candidate that will address the issues ("no shit," we reply). So, when someone actually tackles the issues, they ignore him. And this isn't Dennis Kucinich here being written off by the media as a troll to be ignored, it's The Incumbent Democratic Party Candidate For Vice President of the United States Whom Women Swooned Over not Four Year Hence. Now? Chopped liver. Speaking important things that are boring. Black Person and Female Person are fighting. More interesting. It's like American Idol.

Edwards' message was starting to get some traction with me. I like his stance on social justice, I like his (new) timetable for Iraq, I like the fact that he was right on the economy months ago. And now, of course, the media is shutting him out.

Now what? I won't vote for Clinton because I don't trust her. We've spent the last seven years under the rule of an Executive that has grabbed more power than any administration since Theodore Roosevelt, and moved to set itself up as the top of the government with the Legislative and Judiciary on a second tier that are directly answerable to the Executive. And then there's Cheney's "Fourth Branch." I look at Hillary Clinton and think "Hey, Republicans, when you were busy skullfucking the Constitution, didn't you even for a second think 'what happens if a Democrat becomes president and uses all of the powers we've grabbed against us?'" I firmly believe that Hillary Clinton would abuse the Executive just like Bush did. I want a president who will undo that damage, not make it worse.

And while I like Obama in principle, I'm really souring on the fact that he is part of the fact that the level of debate has been lowered. "She distorted my record!" Get over it! Don't whine about it (I blame Clinton for this, too), go out and tell people what you're really about. The more you whine, the more the media is going to show you whining, and the less you get to talk about the issues. Or maybe that's the plan?

So, while Edwards is my current favorite in this rogue's gallery, I'm afraid that the media has ended his campaign for him. My last hope here is the brokered convention producing Al Gore. As it stands, I still don't know who I'm voting for.

If Edwards is still on the ballot come April 22nd, as of this writing it'll likely be him. If not, I'll write in Al Gore unless the polls show a close contest between Clinton and Obama, in which case I'll probably bite the bullet and vote for Obama.

I'm worn out and frustrated with the whole thing, and we're not even a month in.

-pb