I commented on Fred’s post about Romney. These are my politics:

I don’t care if a candidate did stupid things in the past. I don’t want a person with a clean record. If you had marital issues, fine; that doesn’t mean you can’t be a good president. If you had drug issues, fine; you’re probably a better person for it, because you learned some of your limitations and weaknesses. If you once punched a guy in the face in a bar, fine; we’ve all let emotions go to our heads, and sometimes a guy deserves to be punched in the face for being an asshole.

What I’m saying is this: give me a person who is not an imitation Jesus. I don’t want someone who has apparently never made a mistake or been forced to learn a lesson to start running this county. I want a person who obviously sucks at a few things, who knows where their strengths and weaknesses are. I want a human who doesn’t have all the answers, but has ways of logically testing his or her hypotheses and using other smart people to fill the gaps. I want a human who admits when they’ve totally screwed up, and doesn’t spin it as some one-of-a-kind misunderstanding.

Give me reality—not punditry, not politicking, not bullshit. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that my ideal candidate would ever stand a chance against the media and his or her opposing party, because he or she would not be faux-perfect enough.

And, for that reason, I mentally weep.