Wednesday, November 03, 2004

To re-use my word from yesterday: why the heck are people so mesmerized by Bush that they voted for the dufus? Are there more zillionaires than I realized, and they all look forward to the tax cuts? People think a gum-chewing faux-Texan who often seems spaced out is a good representative of our country on the world stage?!

I am very annoyed.

And not because I waited for over an hour to vote at my new polling place. That was not a problem. The poll workers at Randolph Community Center were polite and helpful. The voters weren't too chatty, but they were a steadfast cross-section of Richmond, committed to voting. Black, white, and even Asian people voted, in this, a part of town that looks mostly black, at a glance. I was there from a little before 10 to a little after 11. Lots of members of the under-25 set stood with me. I could tell their age by the tattoos and piercings; the messenger bags and cell phones; the college texts they pretended to read while in line. Surprisingly, only one NextGen talked on her phone at any length. She did say loudly into her phone, "Yeah, what the f*** was up with that?" The whole anteroom (where the line had snaked) turned on her with raised eyebrows -- or amusement. She did apologize profusely. The people with children, and the oldest folks, in our line segment were back in the big room at that time. As a I walked out, a man in an official City polo shirt, with an official name badge bustled in saying, "Oh, we need another machine here."

Too bad I spent all that time to have only one of my men win (Governor Doug, as I like to call him; though I guess I need to switch to Mr. Mayor.

Thanks to Maggi for the evening of political S&B'ing.


[I wrote this item this morning, but Blogger's been a bit backed up. . . .]

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bush:
1.people like incumbents. "Better the devil you know..."

2.people vote for the guy they think will win. Why? Because they want to have voted for the winner... Stupid, I know.

3.Kerry didn't really inspire anyone. The choice wasn't really Bush v. Kerry, it was more like Bush v. not-Bush. People don't like to vote in the negative.

4.Bush managed to wrap himself in the flag. Even though the war is his doing, people feel unpatriotic ousting him in mid-war.

5.Kerry failed to make the argument about Bush's grassroots vulnerabilities: e.g. "How much did it cost last time you filled your gas tank?"

On the upside, we'll get to say lots of "I told ya so", until they start locking people up for that.
P.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if I would go as far to say Kerry didn't inspire. I think he did, but the media decided to ignore it....

My new phrase to my in-laws who live in Ohio, vote Republican and barely making it--"it's your own damn fault"