The SO & I were talking about this. He voted for him in the last election and I didn't. We both criticized him in the past 'cause he's such a schmooze. But we've independently come to the conclusion that his policies are sound, his communication is excellent, and we really like how he's comported himself in this campaign. Part of the problem we were seeing earlier is that he's always running for President, and therefore wants everyone to love him.

But we got to thinking about it and I think the underlying personality of what I'm calling schmooze is diplomacy. And damned if we don't need a diplomat right now. He's experienced in foreign policy; he's experienced in energy. He's intimately familiar with the immigration issues in a way that no northern candidate is going to be.

In the end? We like Richardson. We think people should vote for him.

eta: We're both registered independent, so we have no say in the primaries, but that's our opinion.

Interrupting with aquarium niece and nephew picspam:

New niece with jellies:

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Gavin, Grampie, and Penguins:

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Neave and piranhas:

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Gavin and the sea turtle:

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And then we made doughnuts.

Hooray for kidlet picspam! That last one of Gavin is beautiful.

Love the reflection in the Gavin + sea turtle picture. Very cool. Looks like fun, Allyson!

ALLYSON! I have something to tell you. Can you get to AIM?

I got Noah a Red Sox t shirt and Gracie a Curious George Goes to the New England Aquarium book!

SO CUTE!

Sorry, now that you've got kids, they get all the crappy souvenirs.

Does "neave" rhyme with "leave"?

I'm super fascinated by that phenomenon, actually -- presidents appointing justices who end up going against what the president would have gone for. I wonder if that will happen anymore.

I think it will. The combination of lifetime appointments and the inherent arrogance of judges might be the only thing between the U.S. and a total melt-down of the seperation of powers.

It was the first time I used the new camera, and you can see some of the colors are all screwy. The jellies were just so beautiful, I couldn't get them right.

neave = leave, yep. Gavin picked it out. He calls her Neavey. Because it rhymes with Grampie Stevie.

Adorable pictures of adorable kids. That last one is particularly cool.