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Try as I might, I can NOT get excited at the Dem race. I can't even choose a candidate

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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 06:54 PM
Original message
Try as I might, I can NOT get excited at the Dem race. I can't even choose a candidate
I find myself deep in the "Who Gives a Shit" camp.

As I am unable to get excited, so am I unable to deeply dislike any one of them.

I am also unable to understand the meme that Dems suffer from a wealth of great choices. I find them all pretty tepid.

Is it my age? The last (potential) candidate to really get me excited was Mario Cuomo.
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gateley Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 06:58 PM
Response to Original message
1. Will you skip your primary? nt
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:00 PM
Response to Reply #1
2. No, I won't, even though it is quite late in the scheme of things.
I have **no** idea how I'll vote. Possible to support and possibly to block/protest.
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DB1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:00 PM
Response to Original message
3. You need to see a Dr. asap N/T
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:01 PM
Response to Reply #3
5. Really?
Why?
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DB1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:13 PM
Response to Reply #5
8. This is the best field in history,
We have Clinton who can take you back to big dawgs days theoretically, we have Obama with his unparalleled speech making and charisma, we have Edwards with his populist anti-corporate theme, we have Kucinich the Dem's democrat, we have Richardson the experienced Governor with foreign affairs experience, we got a caucasian as usual, an African American, a woman, a hispanic and a vertically challenged vegetarian, what more can you ask for?
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:22 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. No, what we have is the most diverse candidates in history
And that's a VERY good thing. I am proud of our party to even have gotten this far.

But as far as candidates who excite and inspire on a broad basis ............. ?

I recall Jack Kennedy. We have NO Jack Kennedy this time.
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DB1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:33 PM
Response to Reply #10
17. I recall my mom crying after Cronkite interrupted my Romper Room show,
I do know JFK cut taxes in a booming economy, I do think his speeches are absolutely great and profound, that said did not most of his legacy occur after his election? His speech on how his religion did not override the constitution is the only one previous to his election that is memorable, are there others? Is there some bill he passed? Shouldn't we as voters quit being pessimistic/apathetic, isn't that the true problem?
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:32 PM
Response to Reply #17
26. Oh no ...... he was a rock star before the election.
His campaign stops were consistently packed. I recall VERY clearly in 1959 going with my parents and my little brother to see him at our local airport. Jackie was playing the role now separated into the characters of Michelle Obama and Elizabeth Edwards. He was probably the first media superstar politician.

You're correct, however that, apart from his religion speech, his greatest speeches were after his election.
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FunkyLeprechaun Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:46 PM
Response to Reply #10
43. I am sorry I am not a direct witness to history
But I do have newspaper articles from JFK's run for the presidency and it seemed so much like Obama's at the moment.

I'm a historian and am fortunate to have a antique dealer friend of mine who sells me these articles.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:24 PM
Response to Reply #43
44. I was alive .... that is history I witnessed
Its true, Obama has *some* Kennedy-esque traits.

Some .......
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ProudDad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-07-08 12:31 AM
Response to Reply #43
54. That's pretty accurate
Those of us who were younger were impressed that he wasn't a dried up old prune like Truman or Eisenhower. JFK was the FIRST president who was actually born in the 20th Century.

Obama's run does resemble Kennedy's. But don't get too comfortable...if it hadn't been for some dirty dealings by the Johnson Machine in Texas, Kennedy would have lost to Nixon.
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no name no slogan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:01 PM
Response to Original message
4. We call that "uncommitted"
And I'm right there with you.

I'm still going to my caucus, though, because there's a big Senate race this year, to nominate someone to run for Paul Wellstone's old seat. That should be interesting.

As far as the presidential race? I guess I'll caucus for Kucinich because he's the closest to my values and beliefs. Plus I don't buy that whole electability bullshit. I did in 1988, and we got Mike Dukakis.
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Peregrine Took Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:06 PM
Response to Original message
6. If you like a passionate speaker you might want to give Edwards another
look. Or Kucinich.
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Carrieyazel Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:11 PM
Response to Original message
7. Yes, this sure isn't like 1992, when Bill Clinton sent excitement through my veins.
Edited on Sun Jan-06-08 07:13 PM by Carrieyazel
When he was nominated, it was like, this is the guy. He CANNOT LOSE. HE WILL NOT LOSE. He's a Governor, and the only one the Repukes feared that year. We moved away from nominating losers and Clinton demoralized the Repukes big time. When he clinched the nomination in March, every Repuke I knew was deflated; they knew he could not be beaten. The best politican I had ever seen.

You can't say that about any of these frontrunners in 2008.
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BleedingHeartPatriot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:45 PM
Response to Reply #7
50. Cy, I absolutely must agree with you. After his speech at the Democratic Convention, I was
ecstatic, I knew our country was going to get back on track.

I am 100% sure I'll feel the same after our GE candidate gives their speech this year. Which is where I disagree with you.

But, oh, yeah, I remember the feeling well. :toast: MKJ
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AndyTiedye Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:16 PM
Response to Original message
9. I Wish We Had Better Candidates
I am really afraid that we are going to see another Repiglicon pResident.
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bagimin Donating Member (945 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:35 PM
Response to Reply #9
41. I know its hard not to be skeptical
after Gore and then Kerry but unless the nominee is Clinton the margin should be large enough to withstand repuke dirty tricks.
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Sarah Ibarruri Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:26 PM
Response to Original message
11. You don't like Edwards? Are you upset because the media has its filthy hands in manipulating our ..
.. choices?
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:30 PM
Response to Reply #11
13. Gee ... flog me cuz I don't like your guy
I ain't in love wit' ANY of 'em. He ain't that special to be singled out.

But you did good interjecting your guy into an otherwise candidate neutral discussion.
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Sarah Ibarruri Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:32 PM
Response to Reply #13
16. Don't fly off the handle! I was just asking! Sheesh! nt
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:36 PM
Response to Reply #16
27. Fly off the handle????
Hahahahaha

:rofl:

You ain't **seen** my handle flyin' offa moves. That reply was simple snark. Snark seemed appropriate since you either wanted to interject your guy into my non partisan thread or were somehow assuming I didn't know who he was and what he's been doing and saying since he moved to Iowa almost four years ago.

I may be monumentally unmotivated toward a candidate (including your guy), but I'm sure not asleep.
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Sarah Ibarruri Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:40 PM
Response to Reply #27
28. Ahem! Here you go: VOTE FOR EDWARDS! nt
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:41 PM
Response to Reply #28
30. Cute
Unnecessary and unwelcome.

But cute.
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annie1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:28 PM
Response to Original message
12. Long Live Mario C. : )...
if i can find the cspan video of hillary in NH yesterday i'll email it to you. it was very impressive.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:31 PM
Response to Reply #12
15. Sparkly had C-Span on non-stop yesterday.
Plus we watched the debates (D & R). If a word was uttered, we heard it.

I am still unimpressed.

If you want bring-you-to-tears speeches ...... Google up some Barbara Jordan.
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annie1 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:34 PM
Response to Reply #15
18. ah, if you're looking for bring you to tears...
you may not find it. i don't expect that in candidates, if it happens, then i'm happy. but i'm more excited right now when a candidate goes to town on issues. that's all i hope for.
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THUNDER HANDS Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:30 PM
Response to Original message
14. you sound like a laundry list type
if someone doesn't check every box on your laundry list of issues, you get upset.

I'm not saying you are, but that's the vibe I'm getting.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:34 PM
Response to Reply #14
19. Wrong vibe. In fact, I am as far from a laundry lister as one can get
I go waaaaaaay more by intangibles ............. and gut feeling.

The fact is, these candidates are all pretty much the same on the issues. Like health care. There are only two choices ...... insurance based or single payer. After that, its all just noise.

No, I'm not a lister. Better recalibrate your vibe machine.
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ElizabethDC Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:35 PM
Response to Original message
20. I actually wish I could feel less excited/invested
it would save me a lot of time and energy if I could just wait until the nominee is decided and then get pumped up. But by getting so excited now, I risk disappointment and the fact that the nominee is someone for whom I have developed profound dislike. I really would like for that to happen.
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Sparkly Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:36 PM
Response to Original message
21. Well Stinky, it looks like Maryland might not matter anyway.
Again.

Since we haven't given to a candidate, we should give to the DNC this time around.
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TwilightZone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:49 PM
Response to Reply #21
24. Re: give to the DNC
Obama and Clinton certainly seem to have plenty of dough for the time being, so if either of them becomes the nominee, money doesn't seem to be an immediate concern. I definitely think that contributions would be much better spent in getting Democrats elected in Congressional races and at other levels of government.

If (when?) we win the presidency in November, it would be extremely helpful from an agenda standpoint if the incoming president had a much more Democratic Congress to work with.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:40 PM
Response to Reply #24
29. On a local basis, we can't even help much there
Our new governor is a Democrat who is only part way through term one. Our two Senators are not up this cycle. Our congressman is a Dem who has a lifelong lonck on his office. Our county council is solid Dem and not up for election.

In fact, I really don't know who needs our help this time.

Maybe we'll go slightly west to the next congressional district over and work toward the ouster of THE most despicable back bench Republican moron there is .... Roscoe Bartlett.
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robbedvoter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:37 PM
Response to Original message
22. I am so with you! My kid asked me to go gather signatures again (we did it for Clark
Edited on Sun Jan-06-08 07:37 PM by robbedvoter
in 2004) - and much as I want to set the good citizenship example, I can't fake enthusiasm or even willingness. I was considering doing it for Gravel or Kucinich - and discovered ...well, exactly what you posted.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:44 PM
Response to Reply #22
31. The pragmatist in me told me not to support Kucinich, against orders from my heart.
My pragmatic side told me not to get invested in a guy who would go exactly nowhere.

I got invested in Wesley Clark last time and we all see what that got me.
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Horse with no Name Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:35 PM
Response to Reply #31
42. Well, if it helps,
my candidate is Edwards, however, I heard some pretty interesting chatter about Clark possibly being Clinton's running mate.
So, if you were able to invest in Clark last cycle, maybe Clinton is your choice this cycle?
Good luck with your soul searching.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:26 PM
Response to Reply #42
46. To be honest, Clark disappointed me deeply with that endorsement
He didn't need to endorse anybody. But he chose to endorse her. I still scratch my head about that. I once said i'd follow him into hell. But I won't follow him to Clinton's camp ... at least not until she becomes the nominee. And once the nominee is chosen ... be it here or any of the others, I'm there. But not before.
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TwilightZone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:42 PM
Response to Original message
23. I've been a political junkie for 30 years. This is the first time I can remember not having...
a candidate this late in the process. I like all of our candidates, but no one is really standing out over the others this time. Not really sure why.
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TomInTib Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 07:52 PM
Response to Original message
25. You and me both, Buddy.
Hell, I don't even listen to the debates anymore.

Maybe that has helped me maintain my sanity, for I certainly see a lot of crazy shit go flying around here on DU.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:46 PM
Response to Reply #25
32. Hey Tom ........
....... (Psssst ...... Keep it quiet, bud, but I think each campaign must be giving prizes for the looniest loony shit that gets spewed each week. Lucky us, we get to sit back laugh.)
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Armstead Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:47 PM
Response to Original message
33. If you haven't been excited since Cuomo....
then you are probably beyond getting excited.

Maybe the best thing is to reframe this picture. Take a mental break from it until the nominee has been chosen,then channel anti-GOP energy to keep them bastids out.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:56 PM
Response to Reply #33
36. Oh I've been involved since Cuomo. Just not as excited.
We worked for Kerry the last go-round even though he wasn't our choice.

I'll wake up this time, too ....... probably when we get a candidate.
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DemCam Donating Member (911 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:47 PM
Response to Original message
34. Dunno when your primary is..but
you don't have to choose until then. Hope you have a breather,
'cause mania has set in and hope we have time to wait it out
for cooler-headed times. In a way, consider yourself lucky.

I'm for Hillary and am having to adjust to this climate. It's
causing some pain. Just wait and maybe you'll make up your mind
when times aren't so "hot".
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spooky3 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 08:48 PM
Response to Original message
35. Nothing to worry about
unless you find yourself feeling that way, once both parties have selected a nominee.

Somehow I predict that whoever the Rethug is will get you fired up. But not the way he wants.

Just my 2 cents.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:04 PM
Response to Reply #35
37. Oh, let there be no doubt ... I am deeply committed to ........
..... the Democratic nominee. I'll get fired up at some point, no doubt.
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Olney Blue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:26 PM
Response to Reply #37
40. Are you afraid of making the wrong choice?
That nags at me sometime, although I admire our diverse and capable field.

I had decided to vote for Biden in the primaries, but that's no longer an option. This has been an unsettling week for me... now that I have to make another choice.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:29 PM
Response to Reply #40
47. No fear about my choices
Biden and Dodd were pretty much my favorites .... apart from Kucinich being my ideological choice.

So yeah ..... I'm back to square one.

I may find myself voting as a blocking measure in our primary if I am not enamored of whoever is the front runner when we vote.
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sellitman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:25 PM
Response to Original message
38. Imagine how the Repiggies feel.
ALL our candidates shine compared to the sorry lot they have to choose from.
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NMDemDist2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 09:25 PM
Response to Original message
39. d00d I"m there with ya
I like em all just fine, but no passion

so lacking in passion in fact I can't make up my mind and our caucus is on Super Tuesday

:shrug:

:hi:
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:31 PM
Response to Reply #39
49. Would darts help?
Thrown against a board with candidate pictures on it?

:)

You know me ...... ever helpful! :hi:
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NMDemDist2 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 11:41 PM
Response to Reply #49
51. that's pretty much what it's coming down to and since I'm the coordinator for our caucus
I just hope I find time to vote !!

:rofl:
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Hippo_Tron Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:25 PM
Response to Original message
45. Don't worry, it'll all be over February 6th
Then we start working on beating whatever twit the GOP nominates.
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Jan-06-08 10:30 PM
Response to Reply #45
48. When we have our nominee, I'll be a footsoldier for whoever it is.
NO WAY we can afford another repub. NO WAY.
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ProudDad Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-07-08 12:28 AM
Response to Original message
52. For me the last I got excited about was George McGovern...
Even Dennis Kucinich is too corporate for me...
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Stinky The Clown Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jan-07-08 12:31 AM
Response to Reply #52
53. He is an amazing man ......
..... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3972922&mesg_id=3973753
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