Culture wars

Do we vote Republican or Democrat? Well, since most of us aren't that politically savvy we have to go on the media and its spin. On that front, the media prefers a good fight to a landslide win by one opponent versus the other. In other words, it'll oscillate from Obama to McCain and back to Obama. Ultimately, I think the media is predominantly Republican, but if the masses seem split, they'll have to balance their allegiance to the best of their ability until about a month before the elections.

As for Palin, well since she's the underdog, I'm not at all surprised at the GOP reaction to her speech. Several news broadcasts have stated that several of her claims were "stretching the truth," but so what? Unlike the Democrats, she was dressed quite conservatively, she was articulate and characterized herself as a "pit bull." She made "hockey-mom" a catch phrase and she seemed self-confident and self-assured. Again, no big surprise there. What did you expect? A babbling idiot? Soooo, OK she's the least experienced candidate to ever grace the nomination for vice-president, but that doesn't mean she's clueless. After all, as long as we're going to essentialize everything, why not put her on the mat? Apparently, at the end of the day Obama is inexperienced, too. Right? And Hillary is a woman, right? Since it's image alone that counts, find a blend of Hillary and Obama and throw in conservative America and Shazzaaam! It's not that I have a problem with Palin personally. I don't. I don't know her at all.

When Obama first ran for the Senate there was such a buzz about him, I really thought it was overkill. I certainly didn't think he was ready to run for the Oval Office and I was pretty dismayed when he made the announcement. I wasn't a fan of Hillary's either. As a New Yorker, I thought she pandered to the Republicans too much, but I was prepared to put her in the Office. Why? Because I was worried. Worried about the economy, about my future, about health care, about the war, about America's growing negative image, about the fact that I went to Ghana and the Ivory Coast and they wouldn't accept the American dollar. I had to change it to Euros if I wanted to buy anything. I was worried about China and a growing indebtedness to their country. I was worried that despite the sacrifices I made to get a college degree - the loans, the job market - I would never have financial security. Ask the Republicans and I got, "stop whining." "The economy is fine; if America has a negative image, it's because it stands firm on principle and others cannot match its greatness; health care is not too much of a concern in light of the war; the war is going well, we'll stick it out even if it takes 100 years; who cares what West Africa thinks; China is in our pocket, not the other way around; if you're having a tough time paying for college, get another job." To them, my concerns were trivial or misguided by selfish considerations. We don't understand one another. Hillary and the Clinton crew I knew. I trusted that once in office she would relax and show her teeth, appropriately. Things would at least start looking positive - and even if it took the whole four years of her term, I believed that my hopes were best served aligned with the Clinton camp. But then Obama took center stage and after a little while it occurred to me that whatever he lacked in experience, he more than made up for in strategy. The man is a tactical genius. Someone was thinking. Actually using his head. Someone wasn't choosing this or that just to win the game, but choosing moves and allies that envisioned the entire four years of a possible career and beyond. I was waiting to see real thought and here it was. So, yes, I'm voting for Obama. Can't say what he'll do once he gets the seat, but I know this: he made history by getting millions of people just about to throw their hands up to hope again.

McCain? Palin? Well, it seems, as one friend so succinctly put it, "it's about whether you'll vote for the football hero and the prom queen or the chess team." I swear, any other time, I might be tempted to go for the former, but the school is burning down and all I can gather is that they (McCain) might pull me out of the burning building, but the chess team's talking of putting the fire out altogether.