Some days I think I popped out of the womb right into the world of politics.

I remember watching Bill Clinton’s victory speech in 1992. I remember organizing the mock election at my elementary school in 1996, forcing even kindergarteners to vote even though the only Dole they knew was a banana. I remember being misquoted in 2000 by my hometown newspaper, being one of the few students not old enough to vote who took a vehement stance on the outcome of the election that year.

Yet, tragically, the presidential election I remember most clearly was 2004, the first year that I was able to vote in an election at the federal level.

I remember groaning aloud as I pushed the long green button, officially casting my vote for a man that excited me about as much as stale saltine crackers. Oh yes, I was one of those who voted for John Kerry in all his glorious mediocrity simply because he was the lesser evil. Kerry was not George W. Bush, winning my reluctant vote despite the fact that his political firmness resembled that of runny grits.

Now here we are, in the midst of the 2008 presidential primaries, and I can safely say that having either Democratic candidate in office will make me a very happy lady.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Republicans who have proceeding to publicly whine and moan to anyone who will listen about their front-runner, John McCain: He’s too temperamental, he’s too old, he’s too liberal (insert dramatic music).

As insulted as I am that anyone would place a Republican in the same political category as me, I cannot help but chuckle evilly with a broad, snake-like grin on my face at the idea that conservatives have a man posed for the presidency who they think is too liberal. How about that strong dose of lesser evils now, my Republican friends?

Granted, the Republicans have successfully avoided the flip-flopping Mitt Romney and the consequent agony of a candidate who stands for nothing. Only slightly better, the Republicans are left with a smart, witty man who valiantly served his country and occasionally likes to mix it up with the Democrats.

I actually like McCain as a person. I think we share a common firecracker-temper and a love of making people angry despite our differences in politics.

But maybe I’m rubbing it in a little too much. Let me be content to count my lucky stars that I am on the same political page as both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Both of them show the promise of a new kind of administration, one that is void of freedom fries and mispronounced words.

I am so excited at the prospect of either Clinton or Obama in office that I am just about ready to fast-forward to November.

Democrats and liberals, we finally have two candidates with progressive (if not perfect) platforms and personality to boot (my jaw still aches thinking about the yawns I suppressed during Al Gore’s campaign for the Oval Office).

Let us reflect on past elections and on the presently humorous conundrum that the Republicans have found themselves in and be thankful that our options are a lot better than theirs. Let us show our thankfulness in the voting booth in May regardless of how much Kentucky primaries may or may not matter to the television news programs. This time we have a reason to get out and vote.

Carrie Bass is an art history senior. E-mail [email protected]