Politics As Usual?

With just a month to go who will win the presidency is anybody's guess. This election season has not been the typical roller coaster of past election years. My guy, Fred Thompson, got into the race too late and then couldn't excite anyone. I have followed Thompson from the days when he was a Senator from Tennessee having been swept in the conservative (and Republican) tidal wave in 1994. He was probably the closest Reaganesque conservative in the race this year. He was even an actor(love that DA Arthur Branch!) What more could you want? Well, I did want him. But as the chads fell and the digital bits were counted McCain came out on top.

Honestly, McCain was probably fourth on my list. He has some stances that I do not agree with from immigration to the now massive bail out. I have not been energized at all but decided that he would get my vote because his views on defense and fiscal responsibility are important and correct. (The bail out keeps jumping out as a big, big missed opportunity for him.) I think that Mr. Obama must be defeated. It is that simple. But then things changed on August 29. Sarah Palin.

What a breath of fresh air! Suddenly, the conservative base was energized. The polls took a bounce and all was looking up. Her strength is that she seems to be just like you and me. She told Biden the other night that those middle class people that he talks about is her. (The highest she has earned, even as Governor of Alaska, is $170K). So she is like us. At least, closer to the folks than any of the other candidates. Rhonda was actually able to meet and shake her hand last Friday. She met with T. Boone Pickens, who offices in one of the buildings that Rhonda manages, and after going through the requisite background check and instructions was given a small pin to wear that gave her access among the Secret Service. Rhonda was thrilled to meet Governor Palin. I was envious.

I am weary of all of the campaign ads and debates. We are hearing nothing new and the debates, quite frankly, have been quite boring. There have been no "sound bite" moments. No "You are no John Kennedy", or "Well, there you go again..." This is a problem because bored people change channels. I was tempted to a few times during the debate last night. But I think, in most cases, the people that actually watch the debates are people that largely have their minds made up already. Those that do not care or that just try to jump in at the last moment are the ones that will cast an uninformed vote and who knows what direction it might fall. I try to not vote on emotion but on an intelligent assessment of the issues. But with the current state of the economy and the campaign ads I would bet that there will be a lot of emotional votes cast. That is probably bad for the McCain/Palin ticket. And bad for the country.

Comments

[Rhonda Berry]

I am so envious of Rhonda. What a thrill!! I too wanted Fred Thompson and think Sarah Palin is a fresh face and attitude in the world of politics. I can identify with her strongly.
I agree with you that we are headed into dangerous waters if we don't pay attention to who we are voting for. If anyone out there hears that voice inside, they will know that Obama is not what he appears to be and the slide that we feel we are on will become real and not propulgated by the media.