Undecided Voters?

I find it incomprehensible that anyone could still be undecided at this late stage in the game. We’ve had the primary cycle where Kerry barely beat out the anti-war screamer, Dean and Sharpton kept skipping out on his hotel bills.

Then came the Democratic Convention where Senator Kerry “reported” for duty under the eyes of Michael Moore. Of course, there was the Republican Convention where the keynote speaker was a “renegade” Democrat.

We have just seen the last of the three “debates” where you had the opportunity to watch the two candidates head to head.

The media has spent approximately as many barrels of ink on the election as America imports of oil each year along with roughly 96 hours a day of air time. Then there are the talk radio hosts, the pajamahadeen and all those political conversations during the half times of sporting events.

The only reason I can see for anyone to still consider themselves undecided is to claim their fifteen minutes of fame much like guests on the Jerry Springer show. Look everybody, here is someone too dumb to have made up their mind by now!

Walter Shapiro thinks these undecideds are still trying to hash out what the candidates believe on a single issue that is critical to them. He calls them the “yes-but” voting bloc.

I do not see how it can be that hard. If you are a conventional conservative, you can’t help but be angry at the way the current administration spends tax dollars like a drunken sailor. On the other hand, if you are a true progressive, you probably see Kerry as too centrist.

Listening to campaign rhetoric is the worst way to select a candidate. These are politicians; their only real goal is to get reelected. In order to get a feel for either candidate you have to take a look at their previous records.

Senator Kerry has a voting record that makes him the shoe-in as most liberal Senator. He has never seen a tax increase he didn’t like or a weapons system he did like. If I have to listen to him say, “I have a plan” one more time, the Secret Service may come looking for me. (This is hyperbole, folks. As long as we have the franchise to vote, assassination is simply not a viable option)

President Bush has a spending record that is anathema to most conservatives but that has to be balanced against his tax cut and his actions in the War against Terror. His much shorter record is one of getting along with both sides in Texas government.

Look at the records and make your choice. Debates and rhetoric are not information but merely cover.