I was downstairs, getting a glass of water and generally enjoying a brief respite from the demoralizing mess upstairs in my room. I can't think, when I look at this mess.

My dad was home, eating a late dinner and talking to the t.v. Specifically, he was eating my mom's first attempt at apricot chicken and interrogating presidential candidate John Kerry on his nebulous policies.

Loathe to argue with the Fox News Channel's Brainerd correspondent, I nevertheless mentioned casually that Kerry was reportedly still choosing a prospective cabinet, and that we can probably expect more specific policies after some of that behind-the-scenes work is done.

(At least, I hope so.)

I segued nervously into a joke about Kerry I'd heard on yesterday's Daily Show, which I thought my dad might find amusing. He chuckled absentmindedly.

I have to give credit to my dad for his willingness to turn a blind eye to my slinking-out-of-rooms. If he starts to get longwinded (yeah, I suppose I get that from him) I back away slowly. It's a system that works.

And that's just what I did, when he dropped a non-sequitur I wouldn't ever ever touch. Watch me slink.

Dan's Dad: Well, whatever you think about politics, if you're really a Catholic you can't vote for Kerry. He's in favor of abortions, late-term abortions, gay marriage… well, it comes down to what's more important, your political beliefs or your beliefs as a Christian…

There's probably more, but by then I was upstairs. Safe.

I don't like Kerry's politics. I don't like Kerry. But, to quote Reason's Jesse Walker:

Yet I find myself hoping the guy wins. Not because I'm sure he'll be better than the current executive, but because the incumbent so richly deserves to be punished at the polls. Making me root for a sanctimonious statist blowhard like Kerry isn't the worst thing Bush has done to the country. But it's the offense that I take most personally.