The other night Dean asks, “Hey, ya wanna go out to hear Donald Trump in Cedar Rapids?”

I'm not sure if that would be the worst date night ever, even compared to the time he asked where I wanted to go...and like an idiot I said, "I don't care." He had no idea WHY I was not happy to roam the aisles of that grocery store we ended up in...

But anyway, being a registered Republican, and feeling like it is expected to support "our" guy, it was a given.

Before Dean gets to the highway,  I ask, “Do you have the tickets?”

I've learned over the years, you have got to ask that.

So it was a night of politics. 

As usual, we paid close attention to what was said.

There was plenty discussion about the Republican party, and a lot of scaring the listeners about the “other side” and how terrible wicked they are, and how great we are.

There was talk of immigration and talk of building a wall...and the usual thoughts on that.

A LOT of discussion about how wonderful our candidate is and how there's a YUGE difference between the two candidates.

I mean after all, one is a man and one is a woman.

One has a paid hairdresser and the other needs one.

For the very first time in my voting life, I am dreading this election.

My first vote for a presidential candidate was for Ronald Reagan.

I have compared every candidate to him since then.

Lately it's gotten harder and harder to see any resemblance to Reagan.

Politicians have figured out that if you want to get the voters, you have got to be Reaganesque you have to either quote him or get a former Reagan appointee.

So of course, I wasn't surprised to see the Reagan appointee.

It also helps to find people that voted for the “other side” but are now on “your side” to speak, as was the case.

Then because we have chosen to bash our police officers lately, you have to include those that have lost their sons and husbands in the line of duty, then just to make sure, let's bring in an officer to speak.

You have to have the family member to introduce the candidate, it seems like the daughter is the preferred speaker tonight with stories of great parenting and grandparenting. Now granted, if you are like I am, you prefer to hear the daughter speak over the screaming and yelling from the candidates lately, well, from the beginning actually.

We heard about how they spent time with their parent, and how they thought of that when she held her new son.

She talked about how she grew up and had everything a kid needed, a roof over her head, food to eat, and you could see dad looking on and smiling with pride, just busting his buttons.

She talked about her public service, and how they are trying to figure out how to help moms that aren't as fortunate.

It finally concluded with the introduction of the much awaited for parent.

As the candidate approached the podium, there was a long, drawn out applause.

Still a few in the crowd were not happy that “their” guy lost, but over all, the majority had joined behind the winner.

As expected, the current president was mentioned.

Walls, economy, religion, defeating terrorism, entrepreneurs, values were all discussed.

Signs in the crowd included of course the usual red, white and blue with the candidates name, even signs that had taken a Hillary sign where they colored it in to say, “Liar”. Of course, at appropriate times there were chants of “Liar”. That one kinda surprised me.

There was flag waving, people crying. (I never got that, I looked at them like, “Really?” it's just a person that you don't really know.) Then again maybe they're thinking like the rest of the country, "Really, all of the people in our country and this is who we chose, yeah us."

There was talk about how we'll all work together.

Republicans, Democrats, yeah, yeah we've heard that so many times. There was talk of how deals were made in the past and how they can make those deals again. How these will be good deals.

Talk about how things will be better for the little guy.

How they'll create jobs.

There is nothing like someone who has more money than you will probably make in your whole life, telling you about how they understand.

I just love how they tell us that the other party doesn't care about us, because only they do.

Yada, yada, yada.

I've heard it all before.

At this point I'm ready to just get up and stretch my legs. I've heard this whole speech before.

Tell me more about the middle class, it's so long since you've been there that you have no idea what that even means.

Of course, there's an appeal for voters from both parties.

There's the whole minimum wage discussion, that it's wrong to think someone working at minimum wage should be in the low income bracket, although middle class means less than $250,000 to them, hey, I'd settle for even half in my middle class pocket.

There was the usual talk about how there would be trade deals, good deals. How they love the steel workers, and manufacturers in this country.

Then how the banks were bad for not giving loans to small businesses.

There was talk about how companies ship jobs overseas, and we are going to make them pay.

There were assurances that we know how to make deals, and they'll be good deals, about how these companies will pay when they ship jobs overseas.

We heard about the Make America Great Again hats, and all the other things Trump puts out.

We heard how we should of course work with our allies and care for our veterans.

And we have to take care of Israel, and their security, and how Russia is bad.

We are going to take out ISIS.

Our commander in chief will be making decisions about our military and their safety.

They aren't going to take away your guns or appeal the second amendment. They talked about gun violence against police officers.

All of the same old, same old.

About this time, Dean walked in the door, fresh off his trip to see Trump, and I was finishing up with Hillary's speech -- the one in which she quoted Ronald Reagan: America is great, because America is good.

So really, folks, if you read this thinking what you read above was from a Trump speech, you've proven what I have believed all along, that these two will say whatever they need to to get your vote.

They really are, for the most part, idealogically the same.

Sure, she's smoother, she oughta be, she's been at this for so long. He has no filter when he talks. She's learned how to be diplomatic in front of a microphone, he has yet to figure out who the diplomats are.

Shoot, he has sent her money before, and probably would again if he wasn't running against her...

Now in attitude and dealing with others, they aren't the same. Well, now that I think about it, maybe they are.

Anyway, here's to making America Great Again...Together...one tweet or one email at a time, you pick.