Do you "regret" voting for someone?

[angus]

Voting for Bush the first time he ran for governor.

it's okay, I voted for Ann Richards.  We cancelled each other out.  I guess the only regret would be that, knowing that we were simply cancelling each other out, we could have both done something more interesting that day than stand in line at a local elementary school waiting to vote.  Actually, I cancelled out my girlfriend, a recently-minted US citizen from China, who proudly cast her vote for the governor for George Bush, the son of the president who was wildly popular with chinese immigrants at the time.  But you probably had your husband to cancel out your vote, so it's all good.  The four of us could have stayed home, or gone to a Rangers baseball game, or something that day.  Too bad we didn't know then what we know now.

I don't think I regret any of my grown-up votes, but I regret voting for Amy for class vice president in the 11th grade, since she didn't vote for me for vice president.  I still won, but at that age kids tend to take that sort of thing personally.  We even broke up over that.  The bitch.  I suppose looking back, through the lenses of 20 subsequent years, it was her choice and one that she felt strongly about.  Certainly it should not have offended me enough to kick her out of bed over, that's for sure.   Youth:  it's wasted on the young, unfortunately.  paradox?

[angus]

Voting for Bush the first time he ran for governor.

it's okay, I voted for Ann Richards. 

Ugh! However, considering who she ran against in 1990, Clayton Williams, I can understand.

LOL.  Yes, somebody else remembers Clayton.  Actually I was referring to '94, but I lived in the Lone Star State in '90 as well.  Was that guy creepy or what?! 

"Juveniles commiting crimes?  I'll have those juvenile delinquents out there in chain gangs, bustin' up rocks.  Chain 'em up together like animals.  Teach 'em some respect for authority.  Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Every one of his commercials featured some bizarre outlandish idea for dealing with crime, and ended with the line, "Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Entertaining for sure.  And that's all I usually look for in a CEO.  But he was just a little bit scary even for me. 

[angus]

"Juveniles commiting crimes?  I'll have those juvenile delinquents out there in chain gangs, bustin' up rocks.  Chain 'em up together like animals.  Teach 'em some respect for authority.  Or my name ain't Clayton Williams!"

Was he for real?

scary indeed, but yeah I suppose he was serious.  Here's a blurb about Williams:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/Clayton-Williams

Scarier still is the fact that over four million people voted for him for governor.  Richards won by a very narrow margin in 1990.

[angus]

Clayton said if a woman was being raped she might as well lay back and enjoy it.

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Really? I can't think why... Jesus... he actually *said* that?

I remember it well.  Yes, he did, but to be perfectly clear it was cumulative.  He was polling ahead of richards, and it was a heady time in a state that had only elected one GOP governor in the past century.  Dems controlled every state elected office, and about 2/3 of both houses of the leg.  But times were a changin'  Anyway, I don't think it's accurate to say the handshake, or the "relax and enjoy it" or any particular moment lost the election.  This guy was a nut.  His campaign commercials, verbal gaffes, and missteps, though amusing, collectively showed that he would not be fit for office.  My only surprise was that it was so close, and it took the people so long to figure out how embarassing this guy would be.  But then, stranger things have happened.  For example, the DNC made howard dean, of all people, its party chair.  I suppose we americans enjoy big weird personalities more than responsible leaders.  I know I do.  But even I'd draw the line before the likes of Williams and Dean.

Yeah, it would have been hilarious if it hadn't been so scary.  I guess I told you I met and spoke with Richards.  She's an abrasive bitch, as I've said before, and none to likeable.  Not unlike Dean either, really.  And she has quite the brash and offensive personality as well, but she seemed slightly less harmful than Williams at the time.