Parking Tickets and Attitudes

I’ve said before, I’m not especially happy about any of the candidates running. Leaving aside silly economic policies (especially those that require hiring Mankiw and Hubbard to justify), there are personal issues. On the Republican side, it seems this is the year for adulterers running as moralists. On the Democrat side, there’s Hilary – I’m still very uncomfortable with the whole commodity trading bit – and Obama and Edwards. Here’s what I just learned about Obama: the other day he paid his parking tickets – 17 years late. All 17 tickets. Which means – he would never have paid them at all if they weren’t going to become an issue.

I can understand getting parking tickets. I got one once myself. I can understand not paying one or two. I imagine they can get lost in the mail, especially if incurred right before one graduates and leaves town. But at some point, this is kind of like my governator. (He would never have gotten a license to ride the motorcycle despite riding them for decades if his riding without one hadn’t come to light.) It pisses me off when folks who want to run the country act like the laws don’t apply to them.

Sadly, it looks like I’m going to vote for one of these people. I may even support one – as soon as I figure out which is the least bad one with the best chance of winning. Its not like there’s much choice.