Awesome

It's not usual for me to combine the words "politician" and "awesome" unless I'm discussing the awesome stupidity of George Bush.

Seriously, his stupidity is beyond amazing. It does, in fact, invoke "an overwhelming feeling of fear" in me that he wields such power and that my country elected him to do so.

(Definition courtesy of Random House Unabridged Dictionary, 2006)

However, having just read that Jon Edwards will be accepting public financing (in a presidential race in which money is everything) and thus limiting how much he can fundraise. True, it's not exactly radical, but considering that Obama and Clinton have made noise they might not sign on to public financing (while of course expressing support for the practice of public financing), I have to applaud the move.

Sure, it's "awesome" in the current "slang" usage meaning "cool" or "groovy" or "swell." But at least the prospect of Jon Edwards sitting on America's throne doesn't fill me with dread.