Well, it's over but did it matter?

Politics is a strange business. We vote for people we know are lying. And then we're offended that they did. Lie, that is. We think all politicians are crooks but we re-elect them anyway. Many of us, perhaps most, vote blindly. That is, we vote for the incumbent because we recognize the name. Which is surprising since so many of us seem unable to identify our own representative or senator. Admit it, you have no idea who your state representative is. A good many of you have no idea who represents you in the House of Representatives.

Some late show hosts make fun of this, doing "man on the street" interviews. Even legitimate reporters do this. The other day, I saw a clip of an interview in California where the reporter was interviewing a young woman about her choice for governor. It was bad enough that she had no idea what her choice stood for or promised to do once in office but then she was asked if she intended to vote...

"No, I can't... I'm only 18."

The reporter seemed embarrassed and admonished her to vote when she turned 21.

Neither seemed to know that 18-year-olds have been eligible to vote since 1971.

Perhaps worse was that the host of the news show offering the clip felt he had to explain that. And so did I.

I really don't mind if someone chooses not to vote. After all, I did not vote in the 1968 election even though I was eligible to do so. The choices were between Hubert Humphrey and Richard Nixon. To me, that was pretty much no choice at all. And since I was in the Navy and far away from my home state, I had no real idea of local issues and candidates. My vote would have been, at best, uninformed. I think it was right for me not to vote in that election.

So, in a way, I hold no animosity toward those who are blissfully unaware of the issues and candidates and then stay away from the polls. I worry more about those who do not know anything about the issues or candidates but who vote anyway. These are the people who, more often than not, vote straight party tickets and take a guess at the various ballot issues. The uninformed voter.

These are the people who have rigid views of the political parties. They are likely Democrat or Republican because their parents were, or because their friends are. They vote like their neighbors do.

Image is everything, isn't it?

Here's some additional food for thought...

65% Favor Getting Rid of the Entire Congress And Starting Over

An excerpt...

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 65% of Likely U.S. Voters say if they had the option next week, they would vote to get rid of the entire Congress and start all over again. Only 20% would opt to keep the entire Congress instead. Fifteen percent (15%) aren’t sure.