First, a little math. And, please spare your election theft argument. It's irrelevant and we don't have time.
Word problem: If 51% voted for Bush a year ago and 34% approve of him today, what percentage of Bush voters (including me) would like to jump off a cliff today.
Answer: 16%.
And so, party Dems, there's no need to push us. Yet.
Next, consider these 16%. Who are we? We are not religious fundamentalists. We are not racists. We are not rich. We are not poor. We are generally well-educated. We work to meet financial obligations that include shelter, food, education, medication and transportation for kids, elderly parents, disabled family members, cats and dogs. We expect to pay our fair share of income taxes and get good public service for it. We know there's a war and we hate that.
Besides our job, we cook, clean, launder, help with homework, clip coupons, stock the fridge, shop, dial, click, e-mail, pay bills, dispense medication, fill the tank, sleep five to six hours and start it all over again.
Some mornings we quickly shower, dry and attach our wristwatch before putting on our underwear.
We hate phonies. We love Patrick Fitzgerald (independent) and Barack Obama (Democrat) because they seem to have a good combination of hard work and integrity, and enough street-savvy to know that if they stop being humble, we'll put them right in their place.
And we never fail to cast our vote (even when we don't really think there's a good choice).
One Republican is as street-smart as Fitzgerald and Obama. And even without any integrity, Karl Rove appears to grasp some key elements about people like me:
- It only takes a small percentage of swing voters to win an election.
- Swing voters aren't generally political animals. We're just shopping for good leaders.
- We pay attention to events, but not ad nauseum argument three years before the election.
- Visual images are imprinted subconsciously (even when we click off the noise).
- Timing is critical (especially near Election Day).
So don't politicize until election year -- just monitor legislation (and don't allow any last-minute curves). At election time, we don't expect to agree on everything, so a brief, clear platform is better than a lengthy all-encompassing one. If money is tight, ask us and we'll give what we can. But don't spend it on any phony images like orange makeup and hunting camouflage. If you are the party of the common people, don't let us see Hillary sipping champagne from the balcony seats at the convention, looking like Marie Antoinette surveying the peasants. We are the peasants.
And, above all, immediately before the election, watch out for Karl.
Thank you for your time.