I respect the right of voters to choose to support who they will. I’m ok with losing an election based on the will of the voters. What I’m not ok with, besides stolen elections, is the when the will of the voters is based, as far as I can tell, on substance as solid as runny oatmeal. The same substance that has replaced many voters’ brains.

Explain to me how an indefensibly unworthy person is named McCain’s running mate and he suddenly becomes a better candidate in many voter’s eyes. He hadn’t been stupid enough yet? Willful enough? All they were waiting for was to make sure he wouldn’t pick Romney or the Jew? The one thing a potential president actually does prior to taking office, and McCain gets it this wrong — and prospers?

As much as I believe in democracy, I am that cynical about the people upon whom democracy depends. Even here in Oregon, there’s been a “Palin Bounce.” I do think that Oregon has a more civil political climate than most places, but we don’t necessarily have fewer voters incapable of having their preferences yanked around by superficial political stunts. Last year, the tobacco industry bought an election by spending millions. Voters knew the ads were pure propaganda, but they still let themselves be deceived. Not the first time; won’t be the last.
But honestly. Sarah Palin?

I want my country to have a chance to recover and prosper. To do so, we have to roll back significantly the role of the military. We have to restore the rights of citizens and workers ahead of the rights of corporations; the former, after all, are the ones covered by the Constitution. We need our infrastructure repaired, schools funded, health care for all, the environment taken care of; above all else we need voters who will think and not react.

There is no way to explain the “Palin Bounce” other than a large segment of voters — these ridiculous “swing voters” — who do not actually think before answering a poll, or casting their ballot, but just blurt out whatever is of latest interest. Or what they nightly news is focusing on. They are not reading a variety of news source, or possibly any news sources. They are not reading the candidates’ policy positions. They are not even paying attention to what they candidates are saying.

They are letting others think for them. Whether it’s the cable news networks they prefer, or the talk radio shows, or the screenwriters at the nightly news shows; for the few minutes they give their addle-pated noggins over to civic duty, they do not bother to actually do the heavy lifting themselves. That is someone else’s job. They just sit with mouths open and brains closed, going, “Ooo, Palin. Exciting. Shiny pretty. Vote vote.”

If I have not made the point, I am utterly appalled by the failure of the voters to explain to McCain what a travesty his choice of Sarah Palin was. If he wins, my faith in democracy is going to be severely tested. Or perhaps, having lost yet again, I’ll find a path of faith that makes me even stronger. I hope not to have to find out.