Vote For Sanjaya!!

Are you watching American Idol?

I am... (And yes, I DO actually have a life...)

I'm not totally obsessed with it or anything. I know the names of most of the contestants, and I have a pretty good idea who I want to win, and all...

But this season is going to be tough to predict.

Melinda and Lakisha are head and shoulders above the rest of the women as far as raw singing talent goes, but I am about over both of them. Melinda's doe-eyed amazement at any positive reinforcement from the judges got old really quick, and Lakisha is just, well, grotesque.

Jordan is fairly cute, and talented, but... ehh.

Haley is one of the prettiest women ON television right now, but watching her perform is more pleasant with the sound turned off. If it wasn't for the fact that I believe that if she stays on two more weeks, she will probably perform completely naked, (and who wouldn't want to see THAT?), I would say that she really needs to go home.

Blake Lewis (or, as I call him, Beat-Box Boy,) is one of the most creative performers AI has ever had, but the judges have just about beaten any creativity out of him, so I am losing interest in him as well.

Phil is just wierd, and Chris is unimpressive. (To me, anyway.)

That leaves Sanjaya.

Bang for the buck, it will be hard to get a better entertainment value than Sanjaya will become, should he win. Dump a couple or ten million bucks on that freak and wait a couple of years... You know that he is just a few years away from walking around with a parrot on his shoulder and trying to buy the bones of Richard Nixon, or some such nonsense.

And we almost lost the opportunity to watch him slowly melt down on the public stage. Were it not for the intervention of Howard Stern, a few other Radio Talkers, and the website votefortheworst.com, he would have gone home weeks ago.

I kinda hope he wins it.

But then again I don't.

There is a fundamental something that bothers me about T.V. shows that have viewers call in and vote on things.

Especially when there is a concerted effort by outside forces to get people to vote for the worst.

It cheapens the act of voting. (Or at least it seems that way to me.)

And if last year's mid terms are any indication, the American People have embraced the practice of voting for the worst.

Voting is a sacred right that should be respected and cherished. It should never be a joke.

Voting for the worst contestant on American Idol is one thing, but voting for the worst in a Congressional or Presidential Election could have disasterous results which could last for decades.

But then again, I'm not all that worried about it... Like I said, I DO have a life.

So, VOTE FOR SANJAYA!

Or don't.

Just make sure to keep things in perspective if and when your vote might actually be important...

P.S. As a former Guitar Player and semi-professional musician, I have to express my respect for the house band on American Idol. The level of musical diversity that they have to have to do what they do is amazing. The heavy set Guitarist flawlessly pulled off the Carlos Santana leads in the Rob Thomas song that Chris sang this week.

I am apropriately impressed. And you should be as well.

They are VERY good.