Undecided?

Undecided voters again. There seem to be a lot of them. In the 3rd straight presidential election in a row there is a large section of undecided voters. Undecided? Undecided? Seriously?

Just like in 2000 and 2004 these two candidates and their running mates couldn't be further apart. Are these people really undecided? There is no way that you can be confused about the differences they stand for. Are they trying to look more thoughtful or smarter? If so, why do they always say "I haven't heard anything in detail about (some topic that has been discussed)." or "I'm still waiting for them to tell me what I want to here." yet they can never state what it is they want to hear.

The thing that is most interesting about the undecided voters, is that the Democrats lose when these undecided voters show in considerable numbers. Democrats are very talented at losing Presidential elections they should dominate, much less win. They are 0 for 2 against a 'C' student.

The Democrats have tried long and hard to lose this election. Starting with the primaries, Clinton's extended run and accusations of being cheated out of the nomination. I managed to not write then about how I was yet again watching Democrats snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Since the convention they have surprisingly played it all out rather well.

It will be very interesting this Tuesday. Everything says the Democrats should win. They have done everything right while the Republicans have done damn near everything wrong. It has all the makings of a Usual Suspects conclusion.

United They Stand?

I just think it would be a really great if Obama and McCain (maybe even Biden and Palin) would do a PSA spot for the Gustav cause. They each have done their own to encourage donations. I think that a spot done together would realy be powerful to show how important it is to come together at times like these.

The Presidential Race: Now In the Crapper

Ignore my previous post. Today's events made it 100% crappola. I don't exactly know what happened today in the political race, but clearly the "vision" is far from a reality. We can meet back here in another 50 years to see if things are any better.

This Presidential Race: A Success (so far)

So I sit here watching some news channels regarding the primaries tonight. As usual, the polls, predictions and pundits were all wrong again. McCain is alive, Romney is still not loved, Obama is electable and Clinton is clearly not done.

With only 4% of the states reporting I am declaring this presidential race is a success (so far). The success I speak of regards two candidates in particular. The country is deciding between Presidential candidates and among them are two people who represent those who have not previously had serious potential to hold this position. People would ask me about my thought on Clinton and/or Obama. My answer was that one or both need to have a successful run at the nomination and possibly the White House. It was very important that they could have a serious campaign that is respected by the voters, the news and the country. If America could seriously consider these candidates on the issues, then moving forward the race and sex issues could get put below the issues of the candidates.

Right now, it is looking like that could be well on its way to accomplishing that task.

I was concerned initially that this might not be the case. All the "Clinton is too divisive..." and "we/I just don't like Clinton" comments seemed unnatural. I seriously felt it was the setting of a foundation to present an early alternate excuse for the fact that people didn't like her being a woman. With Obama, the cover story was about as opaque as plastic wrap. "Is he electable?" peppered with the periodic "articulate" and "clean" statements leaves no confusion about what the underlying issue was.

After Iowa and New Hampshire I am seeing the discussions on main stream new channels discussing primarily the issues and tactics of the candidates. There is the discussion of race and sex with regard to voting patterns, but nothing too far outside of normal discussions. (fyi: Lou Dobbs just made my previous statement false.)

For now this process is a success. It is still unclear if it will remain that way but this does shine hope on the future of open access to the office of the President.

As with any path of change in society, the steps were taken well before this moment by others with much less success. If you view this new landscape as a success you have to recognize those who went before and allowed the questions of sex and race with regard to Presidency to even be considered on some level.

The short list would be (in reverse chronological order):

Geraldine Ferraro - ran in 1984 as Walter Mondale's Vice President. The first serious potential for a woman to actually hold a spot that put her a heartbeat away from the oval office. The United States overwhelmingly voted against that but it was seriously on the table. This path would be continued 4 years later by Patricia Schroeder who ran for the Democratic nomination.

Jessie Jackson - made the first truly serious (but not the first) bid by an African American for a Presidential nomination in 1984 Democratic race. "America's not ready for a black president" was the common statement, but it put the concept in play and it's sting, like Ferraro's, would ease the pain for his successors. The worrisome moment in this campaign was when he won the popular vote of the 1984 North Carolina Democratic primary and was not awarded the most delegates which instead went to the person who finished second in the primary voting. (wtf?)

Shirley Chisholm - ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1972 after becoming the first African American woman to be elected to US Congress in 1969. While she was not the only woman vying for the presidency that year, her's was the most notable and put both sex and race on the table to discuss amongst ourselves.

Important Note: as admirable as these people may be for what they did to open doors, do remember that they are all still politicians which makes them all bad people at their core. :-)