A simple but important difference makes all the difference

Take a look at the LiveJournal announcements, in news or where ever they are this time, and look through the replies. Then look at the InsaneJournal announcements and the replies. Quite a difference. LJ has what feels like a political press conference ("What about this?" "Why don't you answer the questions?") while IJ seems like something of a love-in. Even when the announcement is "Whoops" the replies are pretty positive.

Why should this be? It's very simple. squeaky answers the questions, or at least replies. And not just to the first few respondents. And when something goes wrong, he's quick to say what happened and what is being done about it. After experiencing LiveJournal and GreatestJournal this is a very pleasant shock to a lot of people. squeaky seems a bit bewildered by it at times. After all, "Good customer service is really just honesty."

Yes, it is.

"I want a brand new candidate."

That's the almost the title of a Capitol Steps tune of a few years ago. Their song was I Want A Brand New Pair of Candidates. That's about how I feel right now, and the primaries are only just starting so the field is still pretty full. Ouch.

I took that gotoquiz candidate matching quiz. I've taken it a few times. As bad as it is (it's horribly simplistic) the results are interesting for me. If I don't weight most of the answers I wind up with Huckabee. If I do weight the answers I get, depending on how I answer one question, Hillary Clinton or Fred Thompson - now that's jarring. And with either, the field is a mix of red and blue stripes and not the obviously stratified "blue on top" or "red on top" I've seen others get. This surprises me.

None of the candidates jump out at me as being a really good idea. None of them even strike me as being very good second choices. A few I consider just plain unacceptable, and not just the ones I consider obviously nuts.

For the Democrats, I can see why Obama swept Iowa: he's not anyone else and has no significant baggage. Unfortunately he also has no significant experience with an awful lot. If he should end up with the Presidency I really hope he can learn fast and well. Hillary, well nothing I say will be new to anyone there. You either figure she's good, bad, or maybe just hasn't got a chance. Edwards? I heard (via NPR) him give a primary campaign speech last time around. For a minute or two he was golden, looking to the future, being positive, making me wonder if that's how FDR sounded, and saying how bashing the current administration was counter-productive. Then he said, "..but if I may make an aside.." and proceeded to do all the things he said not to do. He blew it right there. This wasn't an "open microphone accident" or a misquote but right there in his own unedited campaign speech.

On the Republican side, Huckabee bothers me. He's religious, fine, that's his business. But it's not anyone else's and shouldn't be made so. Mitt Romney sounds good, until you realize that he's not saying so much what he believes but what he thinks you want to hear. We don't need a Slick Romney. McCain? I couldn't see voting for him the last time he ran and he's made even less sense since then. Giuliani? Yeah, he seemed to handle a few days in one (admittedly very large) city well. Can he handle four years of a whole country that well? Fred Thompson, well maybe he is that missing "second choice" after all. He's far from ideal, but since there's plenty worse...

I left a few out, but I suspect it hardly matters. Surprises do happen and things could change, but that's how it looks now.

I've heard some folks going on about "change" and being for it. I'm not against change, but I would like to be sure it's for the better. Things can always get worse, too.