In the past few weeks, I have had numerous conversations with friends, family, co-workers and others with regards to the upcoming election and the current state of the country. To my great relief, the overwhelming majority of them (90%) agree with me that a McCain/Palin victory would be an unmitigated disaster for the nation.

However, I am somewhat troubled by the relative split in enthusiasm for the Obama/Biden alternative. While roughly 60% wholeheartedly believe that Obama should be the next President — based on the fact that they gladly took the bumper sticker I offered them, thanks folks — that still left about 30% voting for Obama begrudgingly (as in, “He’s the lesser of two evils”) or not voting at all (as in, “I like pie”).

At least part of this sentiment comes from years of disillusionment with politicians in general. And there’s a lot to be disillusioned about. I’m not blind to that.

But then again, who isn’t disillusioned in general? With their own parents? Their employer? Their life, for that matter? There’s a certain social obligation to gripe about the Powers That Be whenever anything goes wrong in one’s life, regardless of the actual cause. Washington is an easy target, especially when it is the problem, but just as conveniently when it isn’t.

More disturbingly, though, is the rampant belief that the two major political parties are indistinguishable, and indistinguishably corrupt. This generalization — amply reinforced for ratings effect by the Lou Dobbses and Bill O’Reillys of the world — results in a large chunk of the public wearing this absolutist view like a badge of common sense political sophistication (“They can’t fool me, those crooks!”).

This attitude is then opportunistically maximized by, let’s say, the McCain campaign, which never misses a chance to deflect any criticism of the “Maverick” by pointing out that “Obama’s party did it too”. As far as I can see, this is little more than taking advantage of an electorate that lacks understanding of political history and process. And I’ve had enough.

The United States of America is in tatters — to a degree most people can’t yet even imagine — and it has been under absolute NeoConservative Republican control for nearly a decade.

Remember that.

When you hear TV pundits go on and on about how Democrats are equally to blame for the country’s current problems, don’t forget that the Democratic Party has not had any meaningful power or influence in Washington since before the millennium.

Remember that.

Statements made by Democrats in 2004 with regard to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now being dusted off for use in diluting Republican complicity. How easy it is to forget that four years ago (a blink of an eye, but an eternity, too) we were still in a virtual Dark Age: all three branches of government were ruled by the GOP, and Tom DeLay’s absolute stranglehold on the House of Representatives made it useless for any minority Democrat to object to anything the GOP wanted to do.

Remember that.

Even after the 2006 mid-terms, when the Democrats took “control”, the margins were so slim that the GOP still essentially exercised their will with impunity, and their continued influence on public opinion via the media hobbled Democratic dissent more than it should have.

Remember that.

It’s been a hard road for Democrats since we lost the White House. That’s going to end soon. But between now and then, please don’t make the lazy determination that one party is no better than the other. If the eight-hour workday, Social Security, the minimum wage law, the Peace Corps, Medicare, Medicaid, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the first man on the moon, the women’s vote, Worker’s Comp, unemployment insurance, the FDIC, the Family & Medical Leave Act, school lunch and balanced budgets mean anything to you, get EXCITED about Barack Obama… because it was HIS party that gave us those things.

Remember THAT.