I’m invigorated. I’m on fire. I’m proud to be a part of my political party.
I just watched the Vice Presidential Debate. What a performance! I don’t think I’ve ever been so enthralled watching two people debate one another. Excellent job all around. And my pick for VP was, in my opinion, spectacular.
A few general observations I was able to make:
Joe Biden is a man who is not afraid to cry.
Sarah Palin is a woman who is not afraid to wink.
…a lot.
Tonight I went to the same inn where I’d watched the Presidential Debate, and the crowd was more or less the same as before. This time, I did not bring my laptop cord. But when I edged near the television to get to the bathroom, one woman cried out, “Stay away from the wall!”
Apparently, I now have a reputation.
The candidates themselves were riveting—for 90 minutes I could barely look away from the television. And yet perhaps most fascinating to me was the ongoing poll at the bottom of the screen. Throughout the debate, CNN was holding a viewer response line for uncommitted voters in Ohio. They charted the positive versus negative responses on a graph (similar to a heartbeat monitor) using two lines, one for women and one for men. As the debates progressed, you could watch the lines rise and fall, based on how positively the message was affecting the group of viewers at that particular moment. It was fascinating, watching the blue line flatline, then the orange line spike, and soon after orange would nosedive, and then blue would level out. Sometimes the lines would do an intimate tango, side by side. It was a brilliant way to get an immediate read on how people thought a candidate was doing on a certain topic—though the sample size was admittedly small.
Selfishly, I admit: it was exhilarating to watch the lines dip when I was thinking, “You have to be kidding me.”
And just as exhilarating to watch them soar when I threw my fist in the air and yelped with patriotic pride.
In solidarity, there is hope.
But by far the best part of the evening was waiting in the parking lot outside. It’s waiting for you, too—I finally figured out how to post a video. So I’m sharing my extraordinary find in Bree Barton: On the Streets.
All I can say is: Main Street better watch out.
