america's next top...democratic nominee???

as weird as this may seem, i feel like this political race is WEIRD
granted, i'm only a quarter of a century old so i've probably missed a lot where it comes to political races
but whoever loves ANTM like I do knows how you feel in the moment at the very end of the competition when there are just two girls standing there facing the judging panel
kind of wanting to clinch each others' hands, but not wanting to be tied down when it's time to start crying or jumping for joy

they just stand there, as the judges deride or congratulate them on their progress and lack thereof throughout the 14 week (?) contest
clenched teeth, hundreds of photos already taken, hungry hearts, (seldom) humble but oft humble-able spirits, passionate and driven towards a common goal...but there can only be one winner

...and then finally, one face pops up on the screen to their right
they don't automatically catch it in their periphery but the answer is right there
then finally the silence falls out and tyra announces who is America's Next Top Model
screams of jubilation--good times abound (or if you were rooting for the other girl, you just tip up that bottle of wine you were gonna celebrate with and drown the supposed hope into a "maybe next time" kind of attitude--and a winner prevails
this is not a beauty pageant
nor is it a scholarship contest with a new winner next year (though for ANTM there is always next season)
but the truth is, several lives will be changed by this very moment
the next top model will forever be changed--she is a model now (or she has a contract anyway, and a lil bit more money than she walked in with)
the judges (not quite the american public) have made a decision based on beauty and flair and a few other qualifiers that only tyra knows...and now girls (and boys) all over will either be introduced to or become more firmly settled into their ideals of beauty in america...you get the point

and i haven't even started to talk about the democratic party nomination
but to begin, it appears that we'll have to wait until the last sliver of a moment to see who's going to be the democrat's choice
we have to keep watching each episode, getting frustrated when either Barack or Hillary makes a mess in the kitchen and wants somebody else to clean it up
we are the onlookers to ridiculous arguments like who's blacker--go fig
we are theoretically silenced while the delegates or superdelegates (howard d said they're the same thing, fyi) pick and choose their candidate of choice, based on what appears to be a whim since they can't seem to vote any faster than paper absentee ballots can be counted

it just appears to me that this could go faster--lives could be better transformed (once there is a candidate, we can start rallying for people who want mccain to make a better decision)
but we're stuck in a race to see who takes the best photos while still letting their little light shine from within--or putting the other candidates' light out fast enuf not to be disqualified (though is disqualification possible? 'cause if so i have an idea...)

i guess this would be where the sponsors say,
"stay tuned"

...o' dysfunctional o'er spacious lies...