It's been interesting talking to my friends about the mayoral election. Sometimes I think the only thing I have in common politically with them is that:

1) none of us voted for Bush, and
2) we all can't stand him.

Other than these two related points, that's about it. I have pro-Gonzalez friends and pro-Newsome friends. And they're all voting for their candidate of choice for all completely different reasons.

One thing I am excited about, that I discovered about myself, is that when push comes to shove I'm a loyal and faithful democrat.

I used to think that the reason I couldn't see myself becoming a political consultant, was because you have to choose a party. You can't work for a democrat campaign, and then go work for a liberal and moderate republican campaign. Politics is too partisan to do that. I wanted the freedom to work for the best political candidate who can get the job done. It's the way I vote, after all.

Not that I've ever voted for a republican ever, but I like to think because I'm a fair-minded person that if one came along whom I actually liked I would vote for that person, even if he was a republican.

But with the 2000 presidential election debacle, the GOP taking back the south, Cali having a republican governor, and now this crazy SF mayoral election, I've learnt that if the democrats are ever going to retake the White House, the congress, the senate and the south and other regions of the country, the local race is where it starts.

The GOP political long term strategists figured this out a long, long time ago, and started getting their people elected at the local level, then at the state level, then into congress, and then into the senate, regions of the country became GOP voting blocs, and then ultimate political prize, the white house. It took them over 20 years to do it, but they did it, and they're still making gains.

This is not the time to split the party or jump to another party. I don't want another 4-12 years of GOP control of the executive function, the legislative function, and then at some the judicial function of this country.

I heard a politico qouted as saying, "All politics is local." They're right. The battle for the senate, the house and presidency starts with the local election, and I'm a good soldier who knows how to fight.

What's really going to be key in the San Francisco mayoral election is voter turnout. The GOP understands this, and has used voter turnout to their advantage in elections all across the country.

I'm still getting the feeling that I'm being played by the San Francisco media, and they're making the election more into a horse race than it really is.

And I'm a numbers person, who makes a living tracking and studyng historical trends.

So unless things in this world change very drastically, I don't expect voter turnout to be that high. Take it from The Matrix. People don't escape their programming that easily. Most people will choose the blue pill .

"You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and you believe whatever you want to believe," and you don't vote.

Below are two interesting perspectives on the San Francisco mayoral race from two SF political blogs that I really like.

Where's Gonzo?

A View from the Field

The second link brings up an interesting point for me, and you can blame it on my stint as a long term strategic business analyst.

What happens after the mayor's race?

The legacy of Willie Brown has been the whittling down of the power of the San Francisco mayor's office, with the power going back to the district supervisors. Most of the power to get things done in city hall really resides with the president of the Board of Supervisors. Oh sure, the mayor's seat is still important but equally if not more important is the President of the Board of Supervisors.

So I'm thinking, Newsome can't lose. He either wins the mayor's race, or he becomes the president of the Board of Superviors, an equally if not more powerful although not as glamorous job.

One thing which the dotcom CEO also brought, was that if you're at the top you have to be professional at all times. My ex-boss female CIO tried to instill this point in me. She never gave away her true feelings ever in public; she was always polite and professional. She told me that "you never know when you'll have to work closely with or need a favour from someone that you totally hate. It's best to be on a friendly basis with everyone."

Whoever wins the races, one thing is for sure; they're going to have to work with each other in the future. Whether they can or not is going to be interesting to watch.

I was just thinking of getting my hearing checked because I've been hearing this persistent hum in my ears right before I go to sleep, and then I came across this article from the NY Times.

People Hearing Persistent, Mysterious Hum Aren't Alone

I wonder if I'm hearing the same hum for about the last three weeks.

I had my hearing checked a few year ago, and the tests were normal except for the fact that the doctor told me I can hear very high pitches. The doctor said that most people lose their ability to hear high pitched sounds as they get older, but apparently I hear the normal high pitches that you have at birth and the ones that most normal people can't hear.

Creepy, creeepy!