“I look at these people and can't quite believe that they exist. Are they professional actors? I wonder. Or are they simply laymen who want a lot of attention? To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. "Can I interest you in the chicken?" she asks. "Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it? To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked."
- Author David Sedaris, on undecided voters
I am a staunch supporter of Obama. I'm from Massachusetts, so it seems pretty obvious. In fact, my vote doesn't really count because no matter what I do, Obama will win. I am the daughter of a mixed marriage, if you will. My mom is borderline first generation American (mom immigrated from Canada upon marriage and my grandfather was born here but was first generation himself). My dad is old-school New England Republican. His ancestors fought in the Civil War, in World War II and probably a bunch of others, including the Revolutionary War because we can trace that side back to the Mayflower.
That being said, my dad is still from Massachusetts and he's rational. Lately, he's been more Republican by birth and votes Democratic. He votes for Senators Kennedy and Kerry every time and he voted for Clinton twice and Kerry last time around. He liked (emphasis on the past tense) John McCain in 2000 and voted for him in the primaries this year, but my gauge has him going blue this election as well. I see myself as a nice mixture of the two parents. I'm a moderate. I'm a social liberal (pro-choice -- which is wayyyy different than being pro-abortion! -- and pro gay marriage and pro stem cell research), but I'm conservative in other ways. I'm not nearly as versed in economics as I should be, so I can't really express my views on it, and it's something I'd like to change, but with law school, it won't happen anytime soon. While I don't have an Economics degree or any schooling in it, I do know that Reagonomics does not work. So I got that on the Republicans. My point is that I would have no problem voting for a Republican if I liked what they brought to the table -- if they were smart, accountable, reliable and trustworthy and I agreed with their stances on many levels. That's not happening here. There is a HUGE intelligence and judgment gap, leaning in favor of the boys in blue.
Love Obama/Biden. Last night's debate was impressive. He was so good. He was so knowledgeable. Where Palin seemed to be reciting a party line, something rehearsed, he sounded like he knew what he was talking about and reaching into his wealth of knowledge (probably because he was). Why does this seem to intimidate the voters? Why does someone sounding smart lose to someone sounding "folksy"? The polls, both after the Obama/McCain debate (where McCain was stiff, mean and cranky) and after last night's seem to reflect that people are seeing beyond the personalities and to the credibility and intelligence. This economic crisis has made people think and realize that folksy doesn't solve a financial crisis. Folksy doesn't execute and manage a nation at war. Joe Six-Pack can't balance a budget the size of the nation's.
