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Friday, June 29, 2012

John Roberts isn't my Boyfriend


I could never be a Supreme Court Justice. There’s no danger of my ever becoming one, but if there was, I’d have to remove myself from consideration. I’m too emotional of a person. I can’t look at big issues objectively. I form opinions very fast, and once they’re formed, that’s it. There’s no going back.



But I admire people who can be objective, especially if their objectivity leads them to an opinion that I agree with.



So, yeah, I was very excited yesterday when the Supreme Court decision came down to saving Obama’s health care law. I felt it was right. The law was and is constitutional because of the tax component. Besides, unlike other areas of the economy, the consumer doesn’t decide what types of health care they are going to need or purchase. So the free-market principal doesn’t completely apply.



And, of course, I wanted the law to be saved. I think it will help people. I think that the people who don’t want it don’t completely understand it, and I base that off multiple polls that show that people only oppose the bill because they don’t realize what’s in it.



Lastly, I wanted the law to survive because if it didn’t, it would be a huge blow for Obama. In my mind, he needs to win this November.



I wasn’t expecting such good news. And so many people got it wrong! I heard that even Obama himself was watching CNN for the verdict, and CNN originally said that the law had been struck down. Of course, they had to change that headline once they realized their mistake. Then, for a large part of the day, the headlines were about John Roberts.



I couldn’t stop talking about him last night. I admit, when he was first appointed I wasn’t on his side. But last night I was going on and on about how he’s saved the court from becoming a political entity, and how awesome it is that he wrote the majority opinion, and who’d have thought that he would stand up and do the right thing?



After a while, Monty turned to me and said, “You’re in love with John Roberts, aren’t you?”



Monty knows about my penchant for idealistic trailblazers; it’s actually one of the reasons why I married him. So I know he doesn’t feel too threatened. Besides, it would never work between Roberts and me. Sure, we’d have a brief moment of paradise, high off this ruling. But then we’d have to face reality.



Our only commonality stems from our differences. He was actually able to look at something objectively. He doesn’t agree with the policy, but still, he knows that this policy is allowed under the constitution. I could never distance myself that way.



And the sad thing is, most Supreme Court justices are the same as me in that regard. People don’t think of the Supreme Court as one party, they think of them as the “liberal court” and the “conservative court.” This was true even before Bush v Gore. And sadly, while yesterday’s decision was a step in the right direction, I don’t think that’s going to ever really change. By nature, most people aren’t objective.



So I guess I’ll stay with Monty, who is as subjective about most of the major issues as I am. I’d say that’s John Robert’s loss, but we both know, it’s just not that simple.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

6/23/12

This blog belongs to Lucy Jones-Bricker, the main character of Campaign Promises, which is free on Amazon. Here you can read her thoughts about the current presidential election, and how it all relates to her personal life. For her thoughts on past elections and other stories about Lucy, look for the e-book November Surprise, available on Amazon, August 2012.





6/23/12



Yesterday I took Abby to pre-school. Usually it’s Monty’s job to drop her off, and I pick her up. But he had an early morning meeting, so it was on me. When I got there, expecting to see Miss Kelly, the usual morning teacher, I was surprised to be greeted by a stranger.

“Hello,” she said. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Miss Angela.”

I introduced myself, and tried to make a hasty departure, because I was running late. Abby clung to my leg and didn’t want me to go. But she’s shy, like me, so it probably had nothing to do with Miss Angela. Nevertheless, when I got home I asked Monty why he hadn’t mentioned the new teacher.

He replied, “I don’t know. I thought you knew already.”

I didn’t. The teachers in the morning are different than in the afternoon. “So who is this Miss Angela?” I drilled him. “What’s her background? Does she seem good with the kids? Can we trust her with Abby?”

Monty told me to calm down and relax. “She’s great,” he said. And he left it at that. Annoying.

So I pressed him some more, and he listed off dozens of reasons for why she’s wonderful enough to entrust her with our child.

“You’d better not be making all this up, just to keep me quiet,” I said.

He laughed like I had said something funny.

It’s not that I’m normally a distrustful person. But this is my child. Any mother can understand. You don’t leave your child with just anyone.

Which brings me to another point. In an AP-GfK poll released on Friday, Americans were found to favor Obama to Romney on social issues, 52% to 36%.

Social issues. That’s the personal stuff, the deep issues that strike you at the heart of who you are. These are life and death issues, like health care, education, poverty, and equal rights. Yet Democrats are clinging to this hope that it will be enough for Obama to have an edge in social issues, since people are still faulting him for the economy.

I just don’t get it. How can money be the most important thing? I wouldn’t want a venture capitalist caring for my child, and I also don’t want one running my country. I’m not saying the handling of the economy isn’t important. But to me, it’s never been the most important thing.

I want someone whom I can trust.

I told Monty this, and he asked, “Does that mean you’d rather have Miss Angela as president than Mitt Romney?”

Maybe. But I’d need to know her views on the social issues first.