Undecided Voters
Labels: news 3 commentsI had a Facebook status recently that said "Shannon Albert doesn't like undecided voters" or something like that. These last few weeks of the presidential campaign are all about throwing millions of dollars at undecided voters to try to sway them one way or the other. I propose we stop caring about them if they can't make up their minds without millions of dollars of ads being run on their TV. Undecided voters say things like "but the candidates are so much alike" or "it's like choosing the lesser of two evils." No, it's not. We have two good men to choose from who are very different from each other. Make a choice. Or don't. But let's not waste time and money on people who maybe shouldn't be voting in the first place.
David Sedaris (a favorite author of mine and one of the only authors whose books I'm compelled to buy as soon as they come out) recently wrote an article about undecided voters for The New Yorker. An excerpt:
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.
I mean, really, what’s to be confused about?
Update: Just after I posted this, I read an article about some possible reasons people might be undecided. Yeah, these seem about right. :)
11:57 PM
Well said, even if I don't agree with whom the author is alluding to as the more qualified choice.
5:09 AM
I love David Sedaris, but in this case he is making the same error as others who take easy shots at we "undecideds," mistaking thinking about the election (which, by definition, undecideds are still doing) with not thinking about it (which decided voters need to do less of, having already made up their minds). Anyone interested in what a real, live undecided voter is thinking about can visit a blog I created (www.undecidedman.com) and see if there is still more to talk about than chicken vs. sh*t sandwiches.
12:41 PM
I myself am undecided. For me, I am just turned off by politics this time. It seems like the media is forcing politics down our throats and I also don't like celebrities using their fame as a tool to sway voters. I know they all don't do that and the media isn't neccesarily forcing politics down our throats, but that is what it feels like to me. I am also disenchanted by our government right now because I feel like it's failed us. I am not sure either one of the cadndidates can clean up the mess that they will inherit from our current President. I feel like the media has made a "celebrity" out of Obama and depicts McCain as an old fart who knows nothing. These are just my opinions and I completely respect everyone elses political views and opinions. I don't want to cause tension between my friends because of my opinions. That is why I think Religion and Politics should be a private matter for everyone...Including celbrities. OK, I am off my soap box now :)