A Lesson to Learn for the 2012 Elections

For me, the 2010 elections are about one thing, and one thing only: stop the train by replacing as many Ds with Rs as possible. I don't care about the qualifications of the Rs this time. This is about stopping the bleeding with whatever is handy.

For 2012, we will have the opportunity to get more picky. And I hope we all remember to be very, very picky. No longer should it be acceptable for a candidate to paint his promises with such broad strokes that everybody can read into them what they wish. We must nail candidates down to specifics, we must look at everything - their record, their experience, their associations. And we must force them to tell us exactly where they stand on the issues that will matter most to us. No waffling. No room to later spin their words to have meant something else entirely. We really must hold them accountable, and not just hope they are what we want.