In Defense of the Indefensible: The Undecideds
I must admit that I have often joined in the piling on of vitirol re: people who still haven’t decided who they’re going to vote for. With only two weeks to go to the election, I felt that these people were either a) idiots and/or b) trying to get attention. Either way, I didn’t see any reason to give them all of the attention that the media has been paying them.
But this morning, NPR finally managed to dredge up some undecideds that finally made sense. Apparently, this couple had been planning to vote for John McCain, but the increasingly crappy economy has them rethinking their decision; and now they’re going back and forth with themselves, trying to decide. They’re also really angry that neither candidate is laying out a step-by-step plan as to how they plan to fix the economy.
This is an interesting anger point, because I doubt that either candidate actually has time right now to put together a concise plan. One candidate can’t solve the economy alone. That takes teams and a lot of think tank hours. It’s not something you do on a weekend retreat or anything.
But maybe more to their point is that if either candidate put forth even a specific preliminary plan, they would be creamed by the other side in the interest of winning and spinning, which makes it very difficult to truly determine who might provide the better bang for your buck economy-wise.
So much like the I went back and forth with myself about Single Fertilization vs. Double Fertilization, and sadly, the much more thought about Blackberry vs. iPhone; I can accept that a few of these undecideds might actually still be going back and forth with themselves about McCain vs. Obama.
But the rest of them are probably just idiots and/or 15-minutes-of-fame whores.
The New Yorker ran this delicious little piece from David Sedaris about undecided voters….
The New Yorker ran this delicious little piece from David Sedaris about undecided voters….
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/10/27/081027sh_shouts_sedaris
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2008/10/27/081027sh_shouts_sedaris
Yes, I saw that article and liked it — though as w/ every David Sedaris story, it kind of starts off brilliant and then doesn’t really go anywhere as special as you thought it would. Am I allowed to say that? Can I expect a bruising from rabid DS fans the next time I’m in a dark alley?
E- I share your Sedaris views, but don’t tell anybody.
E- I share your Sedaris views, but don’t tell anybody.
It’s the art of the digression! As someone who managed to digress in the first paragraph of my grad school app, I can totally relate.
Still the image of choosing between the chicken and flies on shit is pretty brilliant.
It’s the art of the digression! As someone who managed to digress in the first paragraph of my grad school app, I can totally relate.
Still the image of choosing between the chicken and flies on shit is pretty brilliant.
I’m a huge Sedaris fan but I’ve got to say after reading his latest book…I think he’s just phoning it in now.
But I think the NYer article was more like the old Sedaris. Maybe he should stick to essays and only string them together in a book if they REALLY are great stories.
I’m a huge Sedaris fan but I’ve got to say after reading his latest book…I think he’s just phoning it in now.
But I think the NYer article was more like the old Sedaris. Maybe he should stick to essays and only string them together in a book if they REALLY are great stories.
My parents are “undecided” (well, to be precise, my mother is undecided and my father has declared he is sitting this election out – invariably they’ll find themselves working the polls the day of the election, and he’ll find end up voting. Last election they voted for the opposite candidates and had their votes cancel each other out.)
The more I think about it, at least from my mother’s frame of reference, it’s not that she’s “undecided” per se – she’s pretty good about making up her mind. She just doesn’t like one of the candidates at all (Obama) and doesn’t really like the other candidate (McCain) enough. Hence the dilemna.
My parents are “undecided” (well, to be precise, my mother is undecided and my father has declared he is sitting this election out – invariably they’ll find themselves working the polls the day of the election, and he’ll find end up voting. Last election they voted for the opposite candidates and had their votes cancel each other out.)
The more I think about it, at least from my mother’s frame of reference, it’s not that she’s “undecided” per se – she’s pretty good about making up her mind. She just doesn’t like one of the candidates at all (Obama) and doesn’t really like the other candidate (McCain) enough. Hence the dilemna.
I don’t care if you don’t make up your mind until the very moment that you enter that little booth, but for god sakes just enter the booth! I can deal with undecideds, but what really drives me crazy is people who can, but don’t vote!
I don’t care if you don’t make up your mind until the very moment that you enter that little booth, but for god sakes just enter the booth! I can deal with undecideds, but what really drives me crazy is people who can, but don’t vote!