Updated Unscientific Survey of Voters During Convention Week
In another informal poll conducted at the gym this morning, it appears the choice of Senator Joseph Biden as Senator Barack Obama’s running mate didn’t cut a very wide swath for those questioned. The voters surveyed included Bob, a retired G.E. executive; Mario, a retired commercial fisherman; Paul, a retired house builder; and, Hugh, a retired lawyer.
Not a one of them intends to watch the Democratic national convention this week, either, choosing instead their beloved Boston Red Sox, who play the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium for a three game series. They won’t be watching the Republican convention next week, either, and it will matter less who the Red Sox are playing.
Not a one of them has anything nice to say about Mr. Happy other than to note the 148 days he has left in office. If you’d like to keep track yourself, check out the countdown site here. They are each a few years older than Senator John McCain, and they wonder if he will have the staying power and mental faculties to keep up with the responsibilities of the White House. This concern comes from fellows who work out five days a week and want so ever much to remain relevant to life around them.
Beyond that, though, they each talked about how everything is tougher for them today than it was four and eight years ago. Food costs in the northeast are 25% – 35% higher than a year ago, depending on the item. Gas prices, although down 15 cents from a couple weeks ago, remain high and in the $4 per gallon neighborhood. Home heating fuel costs for the coming winter are a major concern for each of them, too, and they expect the season to cost them upwards of $1500 more this year than last. For late 70s seniors on fixed incomes, that’s a great deal of money.
They all want the war in Iraq to be over and our troops brought home quickly, too. They hold Mr. Happy and his cohorts responsible for scamming us into that war, and will never forgive him for it. They distinquish the war in Iraq from the war in Afghanistan, believing the latter to be the one far more worth fighting and winning, and want the resources of our military invested there. These men are veterans, and keenly interested in current events. They are also men have only the gym in common – - they were not social friends before meeting during a workout, and their backgrounds are all different.
If they could chat it up with either McCain or Obama today, they would tell them both that times are worse off than they were last election time around, and getting worse for them. They’d expect each of the candidates to describe with some particularity their policy intentions upon taking office, and would hold McCain’s and Obama’s feet to the fire for substantive answers. These men served their country, supported themselves and their families to maturity, and paid substantially into the social security system during their working careers. They don’t want fancy words or lofty arguments – - they just want to know what each candidate intends to do. That’s not much to ask for, and that’s why they aren’t watching the conventions this week or next.
They know that all they’ll get are fancy words and lofty discussion, and maybe a few balloons. They know that the local super market won’t take fancy words or balloons – - only cash works for groceries. They know the gas station will require cash for gas, too. They each have lived nearly eight decades, raised their children, paid their taxes and fended for themselves, and they’re entitled to more than spectacle and speeches.
That’s why they’ll choose the Red Sox over the convention this week for their television fare. There’s a clarity and a cleanness to baseball, hits and outs, plays made or not, a clear-cut winner and loser, and then it’s over. And for those nine innings, they can set aside the cost of groceries, gas and heat.
How about you? Baseball game or convention? It’s easy to see the wisdom that comes with age.
Political Commentary | Harrison | August 25, 2008
[...] tmack wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThey all want the war in Iraq to be over and our troops brought home quickly, too. They hold Mr. Happy and his cohorts responsible for scamming us into that war, and will never forgive him for it. They distinquish the war in Iraq from … [...]