Four more years? Of what? Same old shit, no matter who wins.

I have cast a vote for president every four years for nearly half a century. Doing so is an obligation of citizenship. Each cast ballot has reminded me of those, in other nations, for whom voting is neither easy nor free of fraud or coercion. Sadly, in this election, voting may not be easy for some Americans: Lawyers and legislators stand in their way for the sole reason of protecting power or seeking to gain it.

But, as usual, I digress. Mea culpa.

Each cast ballot in my lifetime has usually brought satisfaction: I considered the candidates carefully and said my piece. In each race (well, maybe not Nixon vs. McGovern or Bush vs. Kerry), I voted for a candidate instead of against the other.

But this time? As I’ve written, I will be voting for a liar. One lied much more than the other, but both allowed deceit to be practiced routinely in their names. I’m prepared to swallow that.

But neither candidate has a prayer of governing effectively over the next few years. One, who promised bilateral and transparent governance, has demonstrated he and the other party cannot negotiate or compromise. The other has promised to work with the opposite party. He will fail. Neither candidate has provided evidence of ability to legislate effectively with opposing parties. Neither has provided detailed guidance for moving legislation effectively through the House and the Senate.

That’s because each of the America’s two political parties has figured out how to be minority obstructionists, particularly in the Senate.

Each presidential candidate will huff and puff but fail to blow down the door leading to functional governance. So much money has been poured into House and Senate races by the same superPACs and “social organizations” funding presidential campaigns. That has reduced the presidential race to a competition among consultant bottom feeders. Expect the obstructionism to be raised to an even higher art form by the party that fails to win the White House. All to stall for four more years, to try to gain power again.

So I will vote on the morrow. For the guy the lied less. And no matter who wins, we’ll have another four years of lobbyist-guided and billionaire-funded legislative warfare.

That sound you hear is the can being kicked down the road. Again.

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