the working room

Things I learned watching the Democrat and Replubican Primaries / Caucauses
Thursday, February 14, 2008

Democrat and Republican Nomination Contests

It has been a fascinating race. I especially enjoy watching political pundits, people who clearly think they are sages, get nearly every state primary or caucus wrong. They enjoy writing off candidates without funds. They assume candidates with big war chests will win. They make assumptions about the voting preferences of ethnic, racial, religious groups and genders as though it's locked in stone.

Reality check: people are unpredictable. The polls only predict what the people who picked up the phone, felt like voting for on that day. I've done polling in the past: there are a ton of people who do not want to speak and never pick up the phone.

I'm one of them.

Campaign Appeal and Voters Response

What voters do respond to are the candidates that appear to speak to them directly. I'm reminded of my small, yet growing town, deciding to go from a committee form of government to having a mayor. One candidate went door to door asking for votes. He even showed up at my door. We had a pleasant conversation. The other candidate wrote letters. He may have gone door to door as well, although I never saw him.

I was struck by how civil the campaign was. Each spoke about what they did for a living, where they lived, their families, and their goals. Is there a politician alive that doesn't promise lower taxes, less commercial and housing development?

America is Different

Watching the current race for nomination of their political party I'm struck by what we, as Americans, take for granted. A stable government. No violence at the ballot. Civility. Free speech and the ability to vote. I'm not saying it's executed perfectly, but it works.

Labels: politics, voting