Is It Just Me?
One of the odder side effects of growing older, along with the wrinkles and creaky bones, is the diminishment of cognitive awareness. Sometimes it seems as if I can no longer rely on my perceptions of the things I see, hear, feel, or think about.
For one thing, I have significant hearing loss in one ear which has led to some very weird interpretations of conversations in groups. Recently, I overheard two men talking at a party and spent several minutes pondering what one meant by saying to the other, "Good luck with your goat." Much later I realized they were talking about boats. Oh well, I wasn't part of the conversation anyway. As a woman, the most obvious example is that I can no longer trust my internal thermostat. My sisters and I used to make fun of our mother for always asking, "is it hot in here or is it me?", but I don't find that funny anymore. Hot, cold, cold, hot, I never know. Power surge my ass.
The point of all this is that I'm no longer sure if I can trust my instincts when it comes to the wider world. I see John McCain on t.v. and I wonder how anyone could possibly vote for the guy. I hear him flip-flop, mumble, titter at lame jokes, and make outrageous statements and I assume the MSM will call him on it. I felt sure that after seven plus years of arguably the worst administration in our history, Americans would turn on the Republicans like rabid weasels.
And yet I see McCain bumper stickers and yard signs, I see the media gush over him and ignore his negatives, and I read polls that show McCain and Obama only a few percentage points apart. I heard a woman being interviewed after the primary, a Democrat and Clinton supporter, who said she will vote for McCain in November. Her choice, she said, had nothing to do with gender, but rather with experience. She had favored Hillary over Obama because of her experience, and that's why she would choose McCain over Obama. When the interviewer pointed out that McCain was on the opposite side of most Democratic issues, she said she wasn't worried about that. She expects we'll have an overwhelming Democratic congress and they'll put the brakes on McCain in regards to social issues. I've heard others express similar views - that we are at war and need someone with military experience. Is the country really going to fall for that again?
Since the vast majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, I would expect Obama to win in a landslide. I would expect McCain's numbers, even now, to be in the same neighborhood as Bush's. But I appear to be wrong. So I'm asking you - am I missing something? Is this election going to be close? Is there a chance that McCain could actually win? Or is it just me?
Oh, and good luck with your goat.
For one thing, I have significant hearing loss in one ear which has led to some very weird interpretations of conversations in groups. Recently, I overheard two men talking at a party and spent several minutes pondering what one meant by saying to the other, "Good luck with your goat." Much later I realized they were talking about boats. Oh well, I wasn't part of the conversation anyway. As a woman, the most obvious example is that I can no longer trust my internal thermostat. My sisters and I used to make fun of our mother for always asking, "is it hot in here or is it me?", but I don't find that funny anymore. Hot, cold, cold, hot, I never know. Power surge my ass.
The point of all this is that I'm no longer sure if I can trust my instincts when it comes to the wider world. I see John McCain on t.v. and I wonder how anyone could possibly vote for the guy. I hear him flip-flop, mumble, titter at lame jokes, and make outrageous statements and I assume the MSM will call him on it. I felt sure that after seven plus years of arguably the worst administration in our history, Americans would turn on the Republicans like rabid weasels.
And yet I see McCain bumper stickers and yard signs, I see the media gush over him and ignore his negatives, and I read polls that show McCain and Obama only a few percentage points apart. I heard a woman being interviewed after the primary, a Democrat and Clinton supporter, who said she will vote for McCain in November. Her choice, she said, had nothing to do with gender, but rather with experience. She had favored Hillary over Obama because of her experience, and that's why she would choose McCain over Obama. When the interviewer pointed out that McCain was on the opposite side of most Democratic issues, she said she wasn't worried about that. She expects we'll have an overwhelming Democratic congress and they'll put the brakes on McCain in regards to social issues. I've heard others express similar views - that we are at war and need someone with military experience. Is the country really going to fall for that again?
Since the vast majority of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, I would expect Obama to win in a landslide. I would expect McCain's numbers, even now, to be in the same neighborhood as Bush's. But I appear to be wrong. So I'm asking you - am I missing something? Is this election going to be close? Is there a chance that McCain could actually win? Or is it just me?
Oh, and good luck with your goat.
