This morning, I wrote at my own blog that I’ve pulled the Obama sticker off of my truck; that although I’m not suddenly a McCain supporter, I can no longer be counted in the Obama column.
In short, that I’m back on the fence.
This is causing a bit of consternation, some of which appears to be driven by some rather offensive (to me) assumptions (I’m a woman, and therefore must subject to the Palin hype. Or I’m an independent and therefore must falling for McCain’s superficial reach toward the center). And there have been a few genuinely curious queries, in both comments and email.
So I’ll take a shot at what’s going on in my independent, suburban, white, female mind.
First off — saying that the Obama sticker has come down does not mean I’ve replaced it with McCain’s. What it does signify, though, is that I’m back at square one, and I’m ready to listen to them both.
And yes, part of the reason I’m listening to McCain is Palin. But it has nothing to do with her gender, or her baby, or her hunting. It does, however, have something to do with her newness to Washington — a factor I also see in Barack Obama’s favor, as it happens.
I’m not drinking any Kool-Aid here. Did she single-handedly slay The Bridge To Nowhere dragon? Nope, she didn’t. Did she brave the dangerous “we don’t need no stinkin’ earmarks” thicket? Nope, she didn’t do that either…. and yes, I have a problem how the McCain campaign’s presenting both of those.
What about her religion, you say? Yes, she’s a social conservative to the Nth degree — but as far as I’m concerned, that only matters if she thinks her views should be translated to national policy. Her record (as opposed to the rhetoric) indicates that she won’t. Since this is of enormous importance to me, it’s an area on which I’m intensely focused.
Aside from all that, though, the Palin pick told me that McCain is not afraid to think all the way out of the box — at a time when Barack Obama seems to be fully inside it.
Was it reckless? I’m not sure, frankly. She is indeed inexperienced, but she’s not the utter neophyte her opposition is painting, either. Yes, it could have been a coldly cynical, partisan move by McCain, but I could care less about the politics of the pick. Furthermore, I’m not ready to pass judgment on her ability to lead. Simply because we haven’t yet heard her positions doesn’t invalidate them.
It’s worth pointing out, though, that if the McCain campaign keeps her totally wrapped up, and those positions are never articulated, then his ticket is not vote-worthy at all. But it’s far too early to know this, imho.
Meanwhile, the Barack Obama I embraced during the primaries seems to have disappeared. As I wrote in a comment at my blog:
His approaches to problems were only superficially related to standard Democratic policy prescriptions, in that they were grounded on the people as primary to any solution, and a government that was there to support their efforts.
The Barack Obama of the primaries hit those themes hard, again and again. While many of his policies sounded the same, the underlying principles made him very different, in my eyes. And he was a pragmatist to boot.
But the Obama of the primaries seems to have disappeared. I understood why he was so slow to acknowledge the success of the surge, but I didn’t like the pure politics of it. I understand why he’s sounded populism themes, but I didn’t like the reactionism.
And I even understand why he’s had to back off of any possible mention of a negative in relation to the Clinton years… but again, it’s pure partisan politicking.
In short, the playing field looks pretty even to me just now.
Both of the major party tickets have pluses and minuses. Then again, neither party suits me well in the first place.
Saying I’m no longer a check mark in the Obama column doesn’t mean I’m voting for McCain. It means that I’m listening to them both right now — openly and without bias (as much as possible).