Welcome to The Constant Complainer – voted “Best Local Blog” in a “Best of Cleveland 2008” reader’s poll.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m glad that Election Day has come and gone.  I mean, every four years when there is a Presidential race, regardless of the candidates, I get excited, interested and enjoy watching the polls come in throughout the evening.  This year was no different.  But with this blog in mind, I couldn’t help but share some of the problems that Election Day and election season brings for me.

In no particular order, and in true form of The Constant Complainer, below are some things that drive me crazy during election season.

Calling the States – It amazes me how the television networks vie to be the first to successfully call that a State’s electoral votes have gone to a particular Presidential candidate.  I realize they have to be careful with their assumptions, but was I the only one asking myself last night how they can call Vermont to Obama with 0% of the precincts reporting.  And before you say it – I refuse to believe that the exit polls are that accurate.  Maybe the answer is that Vermont is flaming liberal.  They were also calling States with only 2% of the precincts reporting.  My friend made an interesting comment along those lines.  He said something like: Why live on the West Coast, because their vote doesn’t matter.  Part of that argument is correct.  The television stations were calling the entire race based on very early polling results in OH, PA, FL, IL and IN.  In the end I was surprised McCain conceded as early as he did, but I suspect the only reason he did was because it was a mathematical certainty at that point that he couldn’t win.

Polls – Generally, I don’t put too much faith in pre-election polls.  It is understandable that both campaigns and the media have representatives out there doing barometer checks with the public, but I firmly believe most are skewed too much to matter.  Obviously in this case, Obama won via a landslide in the end, but prior to that, I saw polls that had McCain in the lead and vice versa.  And the numbers ranged from 14% to 5%.  Many people would argue that statistics, in general, are naturally skewed.  Plus there are people like me out there, who purposefully tell campaign callers and polls that I am voting for the other candidate.  Sorry, but I like to keep them guessing.  That’s another reason I don’t believe in exit polls.

Advertising – I realize it is good for business, but I personally won’t miss getting five flyers in the mail every day and listening to non-stop commercials on the radio and on TV.  Not to mention, my phone will now be ringing much less.  Of course I enjoyed the pre-recorded messages, but even on Election Day, I had three calls from my party reminding me to vote.  Again, I realize how the political system works, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t be annoyed in the meantime.

Talking Politics – I hate talking politics.  I’ve gone out of my way to say that this is not a political blog.  I’m making this one exception with my own writings, and have made the comment previously that I published some of the political Guest Posts on here because it was of interest to readers.  But even while standing in line to vote yesterday, the guy behind me wanted to debate issues.  I live in Ohio and there was a proposal to allow casino gambling in our State.  It has failed three times since 1990.  Honestly, that wasn’t even on my radar.  I have, and always will, drive to Canada to gamble.  It’s just what I like to do.  And while I personally think Ohio missed the boat (we should have allowed gaming in Cleveland when it was on the ballot several years ago), I wasn’t about to debate with this stranger at the polling location.  He was getting rather obnoxious about it, so I finally told him my above-mentioned feeling about the previous ballot initiative and turned around.  At our house, my wife and I discussed our votes, to make sure they didn’t cancel each other’s out, but other than that, we try very hard not to discuss politics with our families, because inevitably, people’s feelings can get hurt and some opinions are just way too strong to debate.

So, now with Election Day passed, we’ll get back to normal complaints, moans and opinions here at The Constant Complainer.  I have another column in the works and a few Guest Posts to review.  Oh, and I’m looking for a specific Guest Post too – so feel free to refer anyone that might be interested – I am looking for a single female (preferably age 25 to 35) to complain about today’s dating scene and all the problems that go along with it.  Until next time, take care…

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