Now looking at the title of this post you may think this would be a whimsical article meant for comic relief. By the end of this hopefully you find my point.
A little background. My mom is an awesome woman who raised 2 boys by herself on a slightly more than minimum wage income working in retail. My father passed away when I was 13 and my brother was 11. Both boys went to Parochial Schools and both went to college and received a Bachelors degree. She has lived and currently lives in an East Dayton neighborhood riddled with crime and homes for sale. She has her car broken into 4 times and home burgalarized in broad daylight in just the past year. Someone lit a bush in her neighbor's yard on fire at 5 am one morning. No police showed up. In fact they were called multiple times. A neighborhood watch program was set up but met with resistance by the police. They stated only if you have a certain number of people will we even come out. Meanwhile 2 public schools are open in this neighborhood.
Politically she is a true independant. She has no party affiliation. She has voted for Democrats and Republicans. She even voted for John Anderson for years. She has cable but no computer. She stopped reading the newspaper because it was too expensive and a waste of time. She has never attended a poltical rally. You may think she doesnt care but on the contrary she cares a lot.
So I decided to interview her briefly on this election
If you could pick one issue that is most important to you right now what would it be?
My retirement. My 401k has been hit hard and I am only a couple of years until retirement. I am also worried about social security.
What do you think about the candidate's tax policies?
I really dont know what each one is saying. I know they are both probably lying and my taxes will go up.
What do you think about the candidate's health care policies?
I dont know anything about Obama's but isnt McCain going to tax my health care?
What about foreign policy?
I want the war in Iraq to stop but I know neither one is going to do it. They both will leave the troops over there.
What about campaign ads? Do you pay attention to them?
Not really. I dont trust them so I dont spend time watching them
Did you watch the debates?
Very little
What do you think about the vice president candidates?
I think they are very important because I dont think either person will last all 4 years I am afraid. I dont know much about Biden. I like Palin but dont like the fact she spent so much on her clothes. I think she uses her kids too much. All I see on TV is her kids. I didnt even realize Obama had kids until recently.
Have you heard of wright, Phlagers or Ayers?
Something about them but not really. Arent they the terrorists that Obama has hung out with?
Did you know that Obama was pro-abortion and that he voted against a bill that would allow life saving measures to babies born alive after an abortion attempt?
No that is horrible
Going into the booth on tuesday what is your most important concerns?
Defeating the stupid school levy because they waste too much money and getting rid of our stupid mayor. I dont like her.
Thanks mom
Now reading this you may think that this woman doenst know a whole lot. My point is all the money campaigning and all the ads and all the debates and everything else that went into the election and this was what came across to a true "Jane Public". The message is not getting out. The candidates spend a lot of time talking but need to spend a little more time listening. Whether you agree or disagree this is the message that gets out. Instead of all these so called opinion polls why dont the candidates find out what truly is in the minds of people.
Thank you
