I asked the nice young waitress last night what she thought of Sarah Palin.
I was out with a friend at a local restaurant/bar.
I live in a liberal town, so she was a bit hesitant to answer. "Will it affect my tip?", she asked. I assured her that it would not.
I never explicitly gave my own views. I wanted the most candid response I could get.
"Well, I really like John McCain", she started, but she was liking Sarah Palin less and less. She thought Palin was good at the convention. "Those are just shows, with the music and everything."
Since then though, the more she was finding out, the less she liked her.
She was disappointed that McCain did not pick someone more accomplished. She thought he had plenty of better choices.
"Did you watch any of the interviews?" No - just stuff she was reading.
It worried her that with McCain so old, she might have to be president.
And then I brought up an issue that seemed to be news to her. She is after all in her twenties.
"Do you know that Reagan was shot early in his first term?" 1981. She may not have been born yet. She replied that she thought he was kind of slowing down in his second term. Perhaps she thought I was stressing his age, like McCain's.
No, I said, it is not about his age. About 70 days into his first term, in March, Reagan was shot. He made it through - but he might not have. It did not matter how old he was.
"Oh", she said.
She said her father was very liberal, and there were lots of heated discussions. I expect that she will still vote McCain. Her groom-to-be also.
Her answers did not affect her tip.
But I take from this two things:
(1) No need to trash Sarah Palin. The facts are doing her in.
(2) Youngsters need to be reminded about Reagan's day 70, as unpleasant as that is. A mineworker has a more on-the-job safety than a president.
The chance of Palin replacing McCain? About 21% as Brainwrap aptly describes.