Anyway, I came in wearing a suit and as I suspected it got some attention.  I was asked where I was interviewing and with what group.  I let them know the sad news that I was not interviewing but rather that the prior night I had lost a dear friend.  Of course, the loss of friend is never an easy thing to deal with, no one is quite sure what to say and it is a sad moment to reflect on the mortality we all face.

I took this opportunity to share with my co-workers about my friend and his passing on that Tuesday night, November 4th, 2008.  You see, my friend had not been doing well for a long time.  He had been in this place before and had battle through many an adversity.  While all the doctors were telling him he only had days or even hours to live my friend was never willing to quit.  Like a brave soldier he would fight on.

I told those co-workers that we could learn a lot from watching my friend over the last few weeks.  When life gives you lemons you can give them right back and say, “Hey, I did not ask for lemons!  Give me the apples like I asked you stupid lemon giver!”  My friend showed me that you should never give up, no matter what the doctors or experts might say.  Keep striving, keep fighting, no matter how hard the road may be.  This is what my friend taught us.

Even still, we were holding on to hope, hope that maybe, just maybe he could pull of another miracle like he had done before.  However, it was not meant to be.  You think that you are ready to hear such awful news; you know it is coming and you have prepared for it in your mind.  Yet, nothing ever prepares you.  This was how it was with news of my friends passing.

You see, on Tuesday night is when all the experts and doomsayers were proven right.  He was slipping away.  At 8:30 PM his Pennsylvania and Ohio started to fail him.  Then at around 9:30 PM we heard that Indiana and Florida were not far behind.  Then everything just started crashing all at once, his Colorado, New Mexico and California.  Finally at 11:00 PM, he was gone.  Rest in peace GOP, I trust that I will see you again.

Now that the election has passed and the people have spoken it is time to support our new President.  While I know that in the future I will have disagreements with the direction of the Democratic controlled Congress and the Democratic controlled White House, when those issues come up then I will explain why I am against those policies and what I think should be different.  Until then, I am going to give the Obama team the benefit of the doubt and will wait and see what happens.

One point that makes me very proud to be a Republican is to see the way both John McCain and George Bush are working with the new President, compare that to 2000 with the approach of Bill Clinton and Al Gore.  The Clinton White House was like a frat house with staff pulling out the W’s on key boards and Bill Clinton issued some questionable pardons (including Bill Ayers) and Al Gore being a sore loser.  While the country may have rejected the message of the GOP I am glad to see that the men at the top choose to act with class and dignity, something that was missing eight years ago when the rolls were reversed.

Chances are I am going to vote for the Republicans in 2010 and for the Republican nominee in 2012.  However, my hope for President Elect Obama is that he will govern from the center as he has said, that he will not over reach and try to force a Liberal agenda like Clinton did in 1993 and will not be as divisive as the current President has been.  If he can bring Republicans into his administration and can do all that he promised then I will consider splitting my vote in 2012.

But why, of all times, would people be suddenly searching for political identity tests when they've clearly just voted for their top choice for leader of the free world? Isn't it a bit soon for elector's remorse? Something is clearly digging into the American psyche.

Obviously, all Americans are not searching for this identity test, and my above statement dramatizes the situation. But it's noteworthy that ANYONE would be searching to know themselves so soon after the election.

The only way to learn more about this group of people is to go back and insert a poll. Hopefully, enough visitors will continue to visit this page and answer the poll so that we'll have a better understanding of why this topic is suddenly so important. CultureFeast polls are still relatively new, but you can visit our Polls Archive to see ongoing results.

What do YOU think? Are you wondering where you REALLY stand on the issues? Do you know for sure whether you're liberal or conservative? Are YOU experiencing elector's remorse?

I was driving to work one morning and I found myself stuck behind a newer looking Honda Accord with bumper stickers slathered across the bumper, windshield and other parts of the car. This gentleman is very obviously a Democrat, and he has taken quite a bit of time to make his political beliefs known. There is nothing wrong with this. He has every right to do so.

There were stickers ranging from the simple Obama/Biden stickers to heckling Palin to calling McCain the equivalent of a feather plucking cockatoo…and that isn’t a nice thing. It is great that this gentleman wants to express his political stance, and if he got my attention, it can safely be said that he got many other people’s too.

I found myself thinking I was kind of jealous that I didn’t have that on fire conviction for any candidate or party. I’m not a fan of either presidential candidate. I never really liked an of the possible candidates and while the election has seemed to be the topic everyone wanted to talk about , I wasn’t nearly as engaged. I’ve never voted a straight ticket. Like for Indiana Governor, our current Governor is a better choice when in regards to higher education.

I work for a statewide community college system, so it makes sense that I voted for him. He’s a republican, but that does not mean I’ll vote for that party all around. I thought about how I couldn’t wait until the election to be over so my only “team” loyalty will be to “Team Edward” and bringing back Blood Ties. As my mind started to wander…something even less unrelated to politics popped into my head. “Man it is going to be hell to get those stickers off.”

I looked a little closer…hoping the “stickers” were really magnets or stickers put on magnets. Some were but most of the stickers were actual stickers put on the back of the car. Ouch! I purposely only have my Guster widow cling and BLOG bumper magnet on the back of my car. I even conceded and put my “Corporate Goth: Because Nice Boots are Expensive” sticker on my laptop because I know how hard it is to get those suckers off. Well no, it isn’t hard to remove them. The issue is what will you do to your paint job in the process. You can carefully remove them and minimize the damage, but it is a lot of work and far from fool proof. When you go to sell that car, unless you pay for a new paint job, this could look bad.

Yard signs are easy to remove. You can stop wearing t-shirts, and the commercials and debates will soon be nothing but a distant memory (thank God!). However, this guy has to look forward to painfully removing each of those stickers. Well he could just leave them on. Now if Obama wins, it really isn’t a huge faux pas initially, but soon people are going to be over the whole election and want to move on. However, if Obama loses (mind you I’m writing this on election night…as I watch the election coverage) that could be a little more shady. I know my eyes automatically roll when I pull up behind that car with the Kerry/Edwards sticker slapped on the bumper.

Are political bumper stickers like a tattoo? They sound like a great idea at the time. You actually may still love them dearly, but maybe it isn’t what you want representing yourself to the world?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

]]> http://www.culturefeast.com/bumper-sticker-remorse/feed/ http://www.culturefeast.com/a-truly-historic-election-in-2008/ http://www.culturefeast.com/a-truly-historic-election-in-2008/#comments Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:17:01 +0000 Michael Callaway http://www.culturefeast.com/?p=1651 Well it finally has happened, history has indeed happened.  There was strong debate throughout the process, people feeling very passionate about the issues.  There were a lot of ups and downs and while it was possible to see the outcome well before election night, I do not think anyone really knew what it would feel like until the numbers became final.  This was indeed a historic election, one that will affect lives forever and one that we will always be talking about.

On Tuesday Nov 4th the voters had a choice and because of the freedom that we have in this country they made that choice and what a choice it was.  The city of Roanoke had two bills on the ballot, one to allow alcohol to be sold in stores which barely lost, 789 against, 788 for. The other bill would allow alcoholic drinks to be sold in a restaurants and this easily passed 1094 to 497.  Every vote was critical and…..

Wait! Was this not the historic election YOU were thinking of?  Oh, you were thinking about the Presidential election.  Well, in that case I can write about that too.  The election of Obama is also a historic election and worthy being on the great blog of truth.  The level of excitement for Obama is something that I have not seen in my life time.

Obama will have a tough task for the next four to eight years, war in Iraq and Afghanistan, Islamic terrorist that will still hate America regardless of who is President, and of course a slowing global economy and financial crises.  Obama will have to deal with extremist in his own party and will have to find ways to work with Republicans too.

The thing that worries me the most is the amount of expectations that people have of Obama.  Change does not come quickly and it is much easier to talk change then to actually do change.  We will have a new President soon and I congratulate him on his victory and hope that he is right when he says “Yes we can”.

View #1: Anti-American Sentiment Will Lessen As a Direct Result of Obama's Election
Many people hold Republicans and, more specifically, President George W. Bush, responsible for the militant anti-American sentiment around the world. Those holding this view believe that America has now proven it's true heart by electing Barack Obama, and that the rest of the world will take note and not hold the entire country responsible for past presidential "atrocities."

Perhaps terrorists, Palestinians, and countries like Iran, Syria, North Korea, and others will see the United States differently now that George W. Bush and his worldview are being removed from office. If so, a new era of peaceful negotiations and resolutions to conflicts could begin. Or at the very least, these sovereign nations will not pursue terrorist action because they expect to be respected as sovereign nations and left alone by the previous "world police".

View #2: Electing Obama Has Opened the Floodgates for Terrorism Against American Interests
According to this view, Republican military strength was necessary to express and demonstrate American strength to terrorist factions and dictatorships around the globe. Now that the United States has elected a leader who prefers talks to a show of military force, the impact upon groups most likely to plan a terrorist or military strike is minimal. These groups have a blood feud with the United States and its ideals, and will not be deterred by a Democratic Obama.

In fact, Obama represents weakness. His expressed unwillingness to make difficult preemptive military decisions makes his presidency a prime target for terrorist activity. According to this view, we can expect to see a surge of military/terrorist moves during Obama's first term. They expect Obama will waste too much time trying to negotiate with terrorist/military leaders while they are free to conduct black ops and behind the scenes preparations for attacks against our nation.

Now it's your turn to weigh in.
What affect will Obama's presidency have on anti-American sentiment among terrorist and dictatorial military factions? Keep in mind, we're not talking the world at large - only those who would consider doing harm against our citizens, our interests, and our nation.

No matter what your views are, it is possible that you or someone you know is simply too crazy to debate.  Now, I do not expect that everyone should be an expert on all things that they believe; there are some things that I know to be true that I can not prove.  I also feel like people can become overwhelmed with facts and statistics that it blinds them to the obvious.  As Winston Churchill famously said, there are three kinds of lies:  lies, damn lies and statistics.

What I want to look at is how you can know if the person that you are talking with or perhaps even you are too crazy to debate.  These rules will help you steer clear of unproductive debate and help you focus your own arguments.

Crazy Fact One:  Those that oppose your view are not just wrong, they are evil

When the “E” word makes its way into the discussion, I know that this is about to go no where fast.  I did not vote for Obama not because I think he is evil, I did not vote for him because historically big government has not been able to solve the kinds of problems that we face.  I do not believe that Obama or anyone in the Democrat party wants evil for America, they are trying to solve a problem to the best of their ability.

This is also true for Republicans, when people say that they only care about the wealthy that is an over exaggeration.  As Republicans we believe that if you try to stifle the job creating sector of our economy to “spread the wealth around” that it winds up hurting everyone.  Only time will tell which group is right, but I can confidentially say that neither group wants to bring harm to the American population.

Crazy Fact Two:  Only those that follow your view know “the truth”

More good people will fall into this category then the first, you can have a little bit of crazy fact two and not be crazy.  But, too much of crazy fact two and you will be branded, too crazy to debate.  This tends to come up most with people who believe in vast conspiracies.  One of the tell tale signs that you have fallen victim to this world view is if you believe that everyone is out to get you.  Generally speaking, the simplest answer is usually the correct one.  If you are putting together groups of people who would naturally hate each other somehow working behind close doors then it possible that you are affected by crazy fact two.

Another way that you can know that you are victim of crazy fact two is if it seems like everyone one personally meet seems to agree with you.  This is particularly difficult because it may reinforce the validity of your claims, however, the reason that they are agreeing with you is because they have to come to the conclusion that you are too crazy to debate and that is easier to say yes and then walk away.

Crazy Fact Three:  Heavy reliance on “secret facts”

Michael Moore is a prime example of this, if George Bush was the type of tyrant that Moore describes then he would dead.  Let me ask you a question, where were the Michael Moore’s when Hitler or Stalin where running their government?  I highly doubt that Michael Moore has the moral courage it takes to really stand up to tyranny, if he came face to face with that kind of evil he would probably wobble to the nearest donut shop and eat himself into a diabetic coma.

Chances are, if the information was really secret you would not know it unless you have a job at the CIA, FBI, or NSA.   If it is on the “Internet” and you have not checked it out on snopes.com then do not quote it or forward it until you do.  Nothing screams out “Too Crazy to Debate” like quoting secret facts that are wrong.

Now, if you see that a person or you yourself have fallen victim to any one of these three traits or maybe all three of them, then it is quite possible that you are too crazy to debate.

Looking back at photographs of Palin from when she was campaigning in Alaska, anyone can see the difference; it is like night and day. Frumpy sweaters, and dull coloured suits; Sarah Palin was less appealing than she is now.

I’m torn on this issue. Part of me disagrees with what the Republican Party did. Spending that much money to try to make Sarah Palin more appealing, more beautiful, and less terrifying (she kills moose for heaven’s sake!) probably seems like a good idea at the time. I think the Republicans were trying to appeal to the Hilary Clinton supports by making Palin more colorful, attractive and all around better dresser.

The other part of me is disgusted knowing that one suit cost over $6,000, and that her people were dropping over $75,000 in one place. Just think of the other things that money could do. Feed lower class children and families, put clothes on people’s back, even help homeless shelters across the US, or even send that money as aid to Africa. The opportunities were endless, just nobody ran with it.

This “scandal” reminds me of a story that appalled many people in Ontario, as many politicians were caught sending taxpayers’ money on high-end lunches and dinners, first class flights and pricy hotel rooms. I do not recall anything ever being resolved, and the story ultimately faded away like old news.

To make matters worse, entertainment shows like The Insider and Entertainment Tonight are taking the Sarah Palin-wardrobe story and running with it. The anchors are offering examples to how the average woman can have Sarah Palin’s clothes, for less, by shopping at Walmart or Target. The only problem is that the audience for these shows are already transfixed with Palin’s new threads, and want what they see, designer goods, not a knock-off.

Will this new Sarah Palin keep up wit the trends or go back to her fuddy-duddy fashion ways? Only time will tell, but I’m sure she has caught the eye of one or two fashion designers.

In the world there is some trouble
A young Obama could make it double
Don’t worry, vote Johnny, vote Johnny now

There might be nukes in Iran
And don’t forget the Taliban
So don’t worry, vote Johnny

Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-ooo Don’t worry
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Vote Johnny
Woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Don’t worry, vote Johnny

Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-ooo Don’t worry
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Vote Johnny
Woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Don’t worry, vote Johnny

I believe in “yes we can”
And Johnny has got a proven plan
But don’t worry, vote Johnny

I love the speeches I love the fun
Yet Obama is just too young
So don’t worry, vote Johnny, vote Johnny now

Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-ooo Don’t worry
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Vote Johnny
Woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Don’t worry, vote Johnny

Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-ooo Don’t worry
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Vote Johnny
Woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo Don’t worry, vote Johnny

Look at me, I am voting for Johnny
Here, I give you my phone number
When you want lots of promises
Call me, I promise you long time

Don’t worry, vote Johnny
Don’t worry
Vote Johnny

VOTE JOHNNY, VOTE JOHNNY NOW!!!

Ooo-oo-hoo-hoo-oo hoo-hoo-oo-oo-ooo
Woo-oo-woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo
Woo-oo-woo-oo-ooo

What gives me heartburn is this: Whoever wins the White House is facing perhaps the most treacherous uphill climb in American presidential history. The economy is faltering. Our health care system is woefully inadequate. American workers are losing jobs right and left. Immigration is out of control, and no one in power seems to know what to do about it.

School districts are putting non-English speakers in special education instead of teaching them the language, creating a host of other problems from the classroom to the boardroom. And despite waves of layoffs across the country, major employers from coast to coast are still sending thousands upon thousands of American jobs overseas.

Say what you will about the two candidates on the major tickets, but neither of them can fix what ails America. I defy even Franklin Delano Roosevelt to come back from the dead and put into action a New Deal for the 21st century. No one man – or woman – is the answer. The only viable answer is the American people, and the next generation.

Americans need to kick themselves in the pants and stop blaming subprime mortgage lenders for the economic crisis. Every American who signed the bottom line for a mortgage in which the payment would grow exponentially after five years is just as much to blame.

Americans need to stop suing McDonalds and Burger King for making them fat and giving them high cholesterol, and start eating their green beans. Americans need to stop whining about carrying the taxation burden for millions of illegal immigrants and put their collective foot down about border security and the urgent need for a viable solution to the millions of illegal immigrants living among us who may be working hard, but aren’t paying income tax like the rest of us.

When exactly did Americans forget that the whole point of democracy is that we all participate? When did watching American Idol and Biggest Loser become more important than informing our elected representatives about what’s most important to us and then holding them accountable if they ignore us? Sure, we can’t bribe them with millions of dollars like lobbyists can, but we have something lobbyists don’t have: strength in numbers.

So yes, I’m a cynic. But I’m hopeful. I’ll be at the polls on November 4th. And I hope the utter frustration I feel – the fire in the pit of my stomach impelling me to write – I hope it doesn’t fade away on November 5th. I hope I have the commitment it takes to turn off reality shows and face reality: I have a voice; I will be heard. I hope you do the same.

Any time you look at ANY media artifact (article, blog, TV show, website, radio show, advertisement…basically any piece of media), you need to be thinking critically. You need to know who made the artifact, what they stand for, what’s their angle, background and goal. Even as you read this, before you take anything I say at face value, do you know who I am, what credibility I have, or what I am trying to accomplish? You need to know these things so you can evaluate the artifact properly and then assess its value and merit.

Yes, you need to not only look at *what* is being said, but also who is saying it and how it is being said. Media bias isn’t new by any stretch of the meaning, but when you here people touting something they read in the paper or hear on tv…or worse read on the internet as fact and then go about spreading the ideas as truth.

With the Presidential Election just around the corner, this is even more noticeable. At lunch one day a friend took offense to someone saying Obama is running some pretty “ugly” ads. He is running some rough ads, and so is McCain, but Obama’s “mud slinging” is a bit harsher and widespread than his. The offended co-worker of course jumped to the defensive and started referring to ads that in fact are very harsh on Obama and saying they were McCain’s. Really they are not his. They are ads run by the Republican National Party not McCain’s campaign. One could easily assume they were McCain ads, but if you read the fine print at the end of the ad or listen carefully to the voiceovers, you are told who is actually responsible for the ad. Now, this really doesn’t make the situation better. It is McCain’s party slinging the mud, but it is still being slung. I’m pretty much disgusted by all mud slinging. Both candidates are guilty of it. However, the facts prove that Obama has produced more negative ads against McCain than McCain has produced against him.

That simple fact should not have put my co-worker into defensive mode. Now, had she argued that yes, McCain didn’t air the ads, but he also has done nothing to speak out against them, that would be a different story. I would totally been interested to see what people had to say about that! Instead she made a faulty argument and most everyone at the table agreed with her, or just didn’t know enough to question her. I’m not claiming to be perfect or not fall prey to this from time to time too, but I’m also pretty jaded in regards to the media and it is in my nature to pick things apart.

I guess I would rather have my facts straight than to just go off what the media feeds me. Maybe all those media studies classes just made me paranoid. However, I would rather be safe than sorry. Remember, media is a business. In most cases, their main objective is to make money and further their own agendas! Figure out the facts and then make your own conclusions, and you wll be more informed and better off.

We've all heard the arguments against wasting the vote before. It's a typical ends justifies the means type argument. "If you don't vote for either the Republican or Democrat candidate, you will have no say in the outcome of the election. One of those two candidates WILL be elected, and your vote will have been wasted." Granted. But let's discuss reasons why we SHOULD waste our vote.

1. Politicians never change unless the people demand it.
We can grumble and complain about the two candidate system as much as we want, but it will never change as long as the majority votes to influence the win rather than support their favorite candidate. If everyone votes McCain or Obama simply to stop the other candidate from winning, we have a failed system. True, it may be a decade or two before we can change the system. But later is better than never.

You want to vote for Hillary Clinton, Ron Paul, or Mike Huckabee? Do it. You cannot control the actions of other people. But imagine if 50 million people voted solely on their conscience. How could we ignore the people forever when 25 million support Huckabee, 20 million support Paul, and 30 million support Clinton? These people have been robbed of their voice, but not by the system. They have been robbed by their perception of the system. Someone has to start voting their conscience or the politicians will never take notice.

2. You need a clear conscience.
What they never tell you in those survival of the fittest types of scenarios is that you cannot unviolate your conscience. If you strongly disagree with the positions of a candidate and you vote for him or her, you have just empowerd that candidate to promote the very things with which you disagree.

Almost no one wants to be among the first to take a risk. They want the safe route. Who among you will "waste your vote" to support your true candidate? And since your vote will not likely prevent a certain someone from being elected any more than your vote alone would change the course of American political process, why not do the right thing anyway?

What do you have to lose, really? That is the topic of today's open thread.

Michael “The Relationship Manager” wants to see the war in Iraq come to an end but realizes that if we leave in an irresponsible way it would cause chaos and make the situation worse.  Michael “The Relationship Manager” wants to see a positive Presidential campaign but understands that in politics you have to get a little nasty.  He does not like it, but realizes this is just the way it is.

Michael “The Relationship Manager” sees the current financial situation like going out to a nice restaurant with a large group.  Have you ever gone out with a large group to a nice restaurant but you want to save money?  However, once you get there someone in the group orders appetizers, another orders a bottle of wine and a third orders the most expensive item on the menu.  When the bill comes everyone decides that they will just split the bill up equally.

Who is the person that gets the short end of the stick in this scenario? The person that ordered just a soup and a salad, that is who.  Michael “The Relationship Manager” wants to stand up for these people and make sure that they are taken care too, not just the prime rib eaters.

Michael “The Relationship Manager” has a tendency to speak in the third person a lot and I for one do not understand why he does that.  That is his thing, I do not understand it.  In the end, Michael “The Relationship Manager” feels like while this election is important, people need to care of themselves more and depend on their government less. If you are waiting around for the government to help educate your child or deciding what home to buy then Michael “The Relationship Manager” is disappointed in you and so am I.

However, with the recent presidential election going on right now in the United States, (yes, I am completely disregarding the upcoming Canadian election) I cannot help but stick my nose in this business, and here is why. It is pop culture if it's anything.

Coming from a pop culture background, I am feeding upon all the spoofs and satires that are appearing in the media. I may not know much about US politics, but I certainly know that not many people are taking the election seriously.

Take for example the song that Wil.i.am put out using Barack Obama’s speech. This instantly sent Obama into the pop culture stratosphere, and he had nothing to do with the making or distribution of the song.
I was surprised as you were that Jo Biden was selected as the VP running mate over Hilary Clinton, because quite frankly, I assumed she was a shoe-in.

John McCain claimed that Obama was only a celebrity, compared him to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. What was the rebuttal? Paris Hilton creating her own mock campaign message that, like Obama, kicked up his pop culture credibility another notch.

Then, there is Sarah Palin, who is almost like a parody of herself; unintentionally funny and often times tragic. Her public speaking ability is laughable; her debating skills even worse. It was McCain who accused Obama of being a celebrity, but that has come back to bite him on the ass, as Palin is the celebrity. The selection of Palin as his running mate was intentionally sensational. Palin was literally plucked from obscurity and thrown into real world politics by McCain who (in a vain attempt) is trying to appeal to the female voter.

Palin has instantly become a pop culture icon, which has taken away any credibility she may have had. She is on the cover of gossip magazines as a result of her 17 year-old daughter’s pregnancy. She is being mocked on Pundit Kitchen. Most notably, Tina Fey’s offers herhilarious (and dead on) impression of the VP candidate on Saturday Night Live.

Being popular (or infamous) with the mainstream media does not qualify someone to be in charge of something very important, like say, co-running a country.  I am finding it a mixture of hilarious and tragic that people are in awe of this woman. She has displayed in her Katie Couric interview  that she cannot answer a simple question like “what magazines did you read?”. Or in the VP debate, where she selected the questions she wanted to answer by backtracking and speaking about things she was more comfortable debating. For me, warning bells are going off, and flags are going up. I do not know whether to laugh at the US population or be embarrassed for it.

I didn’t write this to attempt to sway voters, because my say means nothing. I can’t vote in your election. I would just suggest really listening to what each candidate is saying, asking, or promising. Listen to how they speak. Is it inspiring? Can you see that person in office for the next four years? Vote with an educated mind, not because a celebrity does a pretty good impression or because another is more popular amongst your age demographic. This time around, it really does matter.

Then the handlers kept Palin away from the press, fueling speculation that they were trying to protect her. Finally, the McCainiacs parsed her out to Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric for interviews—and it wasn’t good. She didn’t sound articulate, confident and like she had a firm grasp of what she was supposed to say. I found myself wincing as some of her answers to Couric’s questions. Sure, I thought the question about McCain’s voting record unfair. But Palin’s answer about foreign policy experience gave me pause. Then the poll numbers drifted down.

I watched the debates and I held my breath before Palin and Biden came on. I wanted so badly for her to do well. The question everyone viewing at home asked themselves was, “Which Palin will show up tonight? Will it be the charismatic one who made an appearance at the Republican convention? Or will it be the inarticulate one the media has been interviewing?

Both vice-presidential candidates did well, and I was relieved that Palin didn’t crash and burn. But Biden obviously had a better grasp of the issues.

So here is where I’m at. I’m more confused than ever about whom I’m going to vote for. I know where I stand on things, but I don’t see anyone representing me, and, it pains me to say this, but I have serious reservations as to whether the one person who I think could represent me is ready to be a heartbeat away from the presidency.