The first time I realized I hated politics was in 1977. Jimmy Carter interrupted my regularly scheduled prime-time enjoyment on a weeknight to share with the American people something I'm sure was probably stupid. Or important. Doesn't matter. He was raining on my after-homework parade. I largely feel the same way today. I hate politics. Politicians, too. I spent too much time with them as a daily newspaper reporter in Louisiana, Southern California and Dallas. They're loathsome critters, really. Pompous. Arrogant. Conceited. Self-centered. Windbags of flatulent verbosity. And often not as smart as they assume they are. Sadly, that's their better side. Which is why I dread the next 15 months — a nonstop drama of verbal diarrhea from a collection of has-beens, wannabes, never-will-bes and Donald Trump. Regardless of the names, we assuredly face four more years of Democrats in the White House, probably eight (most likely, H.R. Clinton), because just about every carnival freak on the Republican side of the ledger (and most definitely Hair Trump and Carly “Dick Cheney in a Bra” Fiorina), are doing all that they can to assure that the Grand Old Party fails to reclaim 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Nothing like pandering to zealots and warmongers while alienating middle-of-the-road independent voters who now determine all elections. Good or bad, I'm not sure. Democrat, Republican … two animals of the same stripe. One is black with white stripes, the other white with black stripes. Ultimately, who becomes America's next Grand Pooh-Bah is kinda pointless — because whoever it is (short of, maybe, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who is at least a centrist) will still be bad for me and you, and both of our pocketbooks. And certainly not so good for the dollar. Arguably, what we need most in America is a political enema. We need to expel the caustic buildup of political dogma on the right and left — the excessive religiosity, the excessive militarism and the excessive welfarism that has defined us now for the last decade and a half, if not longer. Alas, that's not going to change... More