Democrats at the Door

Saturday morning to early afternoon is when I schedule my weekly attempt to get semi-adequate sleep, so when the canvassers rang our doorbell two days ago I wasn't dressed. Heeding my shout and Tuffy's barking, John eventually answered the door. After a moment he stepped outside, away from the barking and my listening ears.

When he came back in, I asked, "Were they Democrats?"

"Yes."

"Did you tell them we're voting for Kerry?"

"Yes."

"Did they have anything interesting to say?"

"No, not really."

Fine.  This morning I found brochures by the door for a couple of non-Presidential candidates. That's fine, too, although I'd probably have voted for them anyway. (Actually, I may vote for McCain in the Senate race. I haven't decided yet.)

Today I hear that Linda Ronstadt and Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano were both canvassing door-to-door in Tucson over the weekend. Heck, I'd have gotten dressed for either of them.

Sunday morning I picked up one of those card things that canvassers hang around doorknobs, but which usually end up on the ground, as this one did. It was for Joel Ireland, running for another term with the school board. This amused the heck out of me. See, Joel Ireland, lawyer and TUSD school board honcho, is also Father Ireland, whose occasional sermons at the St. Michael's 10 AM mass are as funny as anything Father Daniel Richards comes up with, which is saying a lot. Sure enough, the doorknob card had a picture of Joel, his sons, and their two dogs. The humans were captioned as being TUSD graduates; the dogs, obedience school dropouts. Gotta have humor in a Joel Ireland communique, even if the message is simply, "Vote for me, because...."

Don't worry; I will. It won't be because of your dogs or your sons, or a piece of printed cardboard on the ground. It's because I've been listening to your sermons for eight years, and I have a fair idea by now what you stand for - love, peace, tolerance and helping the poor. Stuff like that.  It seems to me I remember another public figure with essentially the same platform, a very long time ago.

I'm not saying that all priests are trustworthy, wonderful people in every way. Heck, I live in Tucson, where the Roman Catholic diocese is in bankruptcy court after multiple lawsuits from molestation victims. But I am going to vote for this particular guy who, at 50, is still too idealistic to fit his faith and works into just one profession.

Karen