While my political leanings lean left, I’ve been lukewarm on Democrats for a long time. I mean, by 2004 it was clear that George W. Bush was going to be the worst U.S. President probably ever, and the Democrats still couldn’t beat him?

After Republicans had control of the Presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court for most of the 2000s, I was happy that in 2006 the Democrats at least took back Congress. We needed it for some balance, I thought. But in two years, the Democrats have been disappointing and have done little to stand up to Bush. And their Presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, has inexplicably voted in favor of things such as the FISA bill, which legalizes much of the warrantless eavesdropping George Bush secretly and illegally ordered in 2001. It also gives immunity to the big telecom companies that broke the law by aiding and abetting in illegal wiretapping activities.

Obama also voted, again remarkably and inexplicably to those of us who favor individual rights, to extend the USA Patriot Act. (He also changed his mind on public financing for his campaign after pledging to accept it.)

And to add to all that, I am repulsed about the stranglehold that Democrats and Republicans have on our political system. I would love for other parties to gain some traction in U.S. politics, though it will be an uphill climb as Democrats and Republicans seem to come together on this one issue: keeping the power divided between them and not allowing others in the process.

So it was with great skepticism that I watched the Democratic National Convention. I mostly just watched like a NASCAR fan watches a race—eagerly awaiting the next monumental crash.

But after four days of watching the proceedings in Denver, I came away impressed. Few saw Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s daytime speech that urged America to “wake up,” but it was a great six minute burst of energy. Virginia’s own Mark Warner offered a somewhat modified version of the stump speech many Virginians have probably already heard, but his keynote address did offer a much-needed reminder of how bi-partisanship will be required if this nation is to move forward.

The Clintons seemed to be a wildcard. Would they throw their support to Obama or would they throw Obama under the bus? Both Hillary and Bill offered well-done speeches calling for Democratic unity and support for Barack Obama.

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer offered a fun and fiery speech and Beau Biden, Delaware Attorney General and son of Vice Presidential hopeful Joe Biden, offered a poignant and introduction of his father (whose speech actually fell a bit flat, though it had its moments).

And then the crown jewel came late Thursday as Barack Obama accepted the nomination and offered a remarkable speech amid one of the more amazing political environments that I have ever seen. Obama did everything the pundits said he had to do: Be tough on McCain, offer specifics on his policies, give proper credit to the Clintons, and continue to excite and energize Democrats. He did all that plus some. My favorite aspect was that he called out the American people and demanded personal accountability—something the Bush administration has momentously failed to do in eight years.

“We must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money,” Obama said Thursday night. “It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our ‘intellectual and moral strength.’ Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need.

“Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility—that’s the essence of America’s promise.”

Add all of that together, and I think the Democratic National Convention, for any unbiased observer, has to be considered a hit.

On the other hand, politically I must give Sen. John McCain credit for announcing his Vice Presidential candidate on the morning after Obama’s historic speech. Knowing that the media would be talking about the speech ad nauseum on Friday morning, McCain stole some of the Democratic thunder by announcing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

Too bad that Palin is a major miss.

Hey, Hillary voters determined to have a woman on the ticket, here’s the good news: Palin has a vagina! At least I assume she does.

McCain is so desperate to pull in disgruntled Hillary voters that he offered up conservative extremist and vaguely qualified Palin, a woman whom he had only met once, as his running mate.

Republicans have been howling at Obama’s lack of experience, yet their Vice Presidential candidate’s consists of being a city council member and mayor of a town of 9,000 before becoming Alaska’s governor for less than two years. Personally, I don’t believe a person has to have tons of political experience to be a good leader, but Republicans sure seemed to think so—at least before Friday morning.

McCain still holds tight onto that “maverick” persona (though he hasn’t done anything maverick-like in about 8 years) and the myth that he’s not afraid to stand up to his party, but with the addition of a right-wing religious extremist, McCain has shown, yet again, that he is more than willing to pander to the religious right of his party.

Palin is an anti-choice, anti-environmental, anti-LBGT rights, Buchanan-esque extreme conservative with little political experience. She’s even anti-polar bear. Who hates polar bears, other than maybe Stephen Colbert? They are so cute when they are drinking their Coca-Cola.

But hey, Hillary supporters, she is a woman! You have to vote for a woman, don’t you?

My feeling is that this is a complete pander and an insult to women if McCain thinks he can roll out anyone who has had babies and women will automatically vote for her.

And if Hillary supporters will throw away everything that Hillary herself believes in to vote for a ticket that essentially is the opposite of everything Hillary stands for, then this country’s taste for revenge and political blood is even worse than I thought—and I think it’s pretty bad.

At least as a former runner up in the Miss Alaska contest, she is kind of hot. At least McCain must think so. Did you see the way he kept staring at Palin’s butt while she gave her introductory speech on Friday? It was creepy!

With the Democratic Convention just past us and the Republican Convention just starting, we will see two months of intense and possibly overwhelming political coverage. It’s gonna be interesting.

Tim W. Jackson is disgruntled with the political process.