My Little Problem

On Thursday I admitted to myself that I had become addicted to politics, that I had a real problem and that it was time to quit this stuff. When you find yourself posting sappy comments about Barack Obama to your blog well after your children have gone to bed, and then dream about the upcoming election most of the night, only to stop for a brief period to toss and turn awake worrying about its outcome, it's time to take a good hard look at your behavior.

So how has my first day on the wagon gone? Well, around 10:30 in the morning I told myself that sitting down for a few minutes while waiting for the sheets to wrinkle release in the dryer, and watching a little of last night's episode of The Daily Show couldn't hurt. After all, I needed one last hit just to get myself through this. When the show was finished, I felt like a dirty cheater.

After that I was careful to steer clear of the people and places that I know would make me want to start thinking about the presidential race again. I knew better than to navigate to the Huffington Post, the sight of many hours of elated reading about Sarah Palin's latest gaff, or John McCain's most recent use of the "c" word. I also stayed well away from CNN.com where I knew I couldn't possibly resist the multi-colored electoral college map or the siren song of its sister, the map of the latest poll numbers.

Thinking it was a safe place to go, I checked my email while last night's crud soaked off the frying pan. What I found there led me to temptation though. It was a summary of the most recent blog posts at Huffington Post, and before I knew it I was forwarding a link to CC Goldwater's blog post about how McCain has lost our vote.

Enough, I told myself. Time to get out of this house and away from my computer. I leashed up the dogs and set out for a walk, determined to enjoy the fall sunshine and clear my head of thoughts about the Powell Bounce, or Palin's $150,000 makeover. It all went well until I started seeing all of the Yes on 8 signs that have popped up over the last week in my neighborhood like mushrooms in a cow patty. Instead of listening to the crunch of the fallen leaves under my feet and enjoying all of the Halloween decorations, I caught myself with my finger poised above my neighbor's doorbell, about to ask her where I could get myself a No on 8 sign like hers.

I've decided to give myself a break. Like all addictions, this one won't be beaten in a day. Instead I'll try to limit myself to one visit a day to Huffington Post, and a quick check once a week to see how the polls look at CNN. I'm swearing off Jon Stewart all together though. At least I will after November 4th. And this time I mean it.