Yes, we decided people continue to suffer as the news anchors, pundits and political analysts remind us again and again that "it will be the independent and undecideds who determine the winner of this presidential election. " Then I read this piece in the New Yorker magazine which quotes writer David Sedaris:
"I don’t know that it was always this way, but, for as long as I can remember, just as we move into the final weeks of the Presidential campaign the focus shifts to the undecided voters. “Who are they?” the news anchors ask. “And how might they determine the outcome of this election?”
Then you’ll see this man or woman— someone, I always think, who looks very happy to be on TV. “Well, Charlie,” they say, “I’ve gone back and forth on the issues and whatnot, but I just can’t seem to make up my mind!” Some insist that there’s very little difference between candidate A and candidate B. Others claim that they’re with A on defense and health care but are leaning toward B when it comes to the economy.
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."
The rest of Sedaris' article can be found at: http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/10/27/081027sh_shouts_sedaris Honestly, just the cartoon that accompanies the article is worth a peek.
Vote Obama '08!
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Comments: 36
Thanks so much, Kathryn. Hope the Sedaris bit gave you the good laugh it gave me.
60% chance I'll write in Hillary.
40% chance I'll vote for McCain.
"Undecided? Really?
Who the hell are you? Are you evil? Are you Jesus?"
Morford is one of those expressive wordsmiths who slices with a razor sharp insight and dices with wild abandon...nothing is sacred. Here are the first two paragraphs of his piece:
"I'm told it is sometimes helpful to project outside yourself, to mess with your own ideological boundaries, to attempt, however exasperatingly and however much it makes you want to hose yourself down with the cool fire of intellectual clarity afterwards, to enter the minds of your enemies, or those with whom you merely disagree, or -- perhaps most challenging of all -- with those whose mental gyrations you simply cannot fathom in the slightest.
Behold, the Undecideds. Have you heard of this bizarre, nefarious group? The millions of faceless, slow-blinking, mentally unattached Americans who are, right this minute, with mere days to go before the most historic election in our lifetime and when faced with what seems to be the most glaringly obvious divisions of attitude and perspective you could possibly imagine, still "on the fence" about Obama or McCain, love or hate, country or disco, Paris or Fresno, oil or water, Porsche or Pinto?
The rest of his article is here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/10/22/notes102208.DTL&nl=fix
I know a few people that are undecided as well.
Mooch
Evidently some still prefer this. But less and less every day.
There was a time when we could talk to each other without being insulting and without thinking someone who dedicated his life to public service - particularly Senator Biden who wrote the law and tirelessly presented it year after year until it passed to protect women from violence - would be considered a 'buffoon'. Interesting. Tell me who you think isn't a buffoon, as that intrigues me. I respect your opinion and right to it, but does a person have to be 'Hollywood' to impress you? Just curious. I find Joe Biden incredibly refreshing and authentic and occasionally dorky. I think he's great. A real person.
If Obama wins, Doyle, kiss Ron and Beaker.
1) Chronically indecisive. Perhaps lacking in personal priorities or the ability to discriminate. Will base their decision on a coin flip in the voting booth.
2) Lazy. Don't really give a damn and thus don't bother to educate themselves on issues/candidates.
3) Dumber than dirt. Incapable of understanding the differences between candidates, the issues or consequences.
These are the people who are going to cast the deciding votes and determine the destiny of your country. You may shoot yourself now.
The truth about Obama's birth certificate.
Summary
In June [2008], the Obama campaign released a digitally scanned image of his birth certificate to quell speculative charges that he might not be a natural-born citizen. But the image prompted more blog-based skepticism about the document's authenticity. And recently, author Jerome Corsi, whose book attacks Obama, said in a TV interview that the birth certificate the campaign has is "fake."
We beg to differ. FactCheck.org staffers have now seen, touched, examined and photographed the original birth certificate. We conclude that it meets all of the requirements from the State Department for proving U.S. citizenship. Claims that the document lacks a raised seal or a signature are false. We have posted high-resolution photographs of the document as "supporting documents" to this article. Our conclusion: Obama was born in the U.S.A. just as he has always said.
If undecided due to this distraction, kindly go to this link where you can read the complete analysis with photos: http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/born_in_the_usa.html
Happy Halloween. Hope you have a great weekend.