An ex recently emailed me that she couldn't stand all the "I was Dean, but now I'm Edwards" types... I was forced to admit that I was one of the people she was talking about. My reply to her email follows:
Btw - not really an edwards fan, just big time anti-Kerry... his torticelli/gephardt osama=dean ads really pissed me off, so if I can derail his nomination, I gotta do it...
A current blog post says something to me too... the woman talks about hearing Dean's voice for the first time - hearing the character in it, etc... well, ya know - I don't hear that in Kerry's or Edwards' voice - but it is especially absent in Kerry's voice. Edwards also sounds like a slick manipulator, but he hasn't been part of the go along, get along Washington establishment for so many years he's been ossified by it.
Anyway, suffering from a bit of political exhaustion... I know my reasons are visceral and not based on any real issues (not even the osama ad qualifies, I'm afraid). But I just can't get excited by any candidate besides Dean. I figure I'm gonna hafta accept either Kerry or Edwards for the next four years, I might as well make a choice today... I just wish I could get up the motivation to make an informed choice. I knew almost all of dean's positions - you shoulda heard me on WRPI - think I told you I was a guest on a lefty talk show that was about the Dean campaign... funny tho - expected to be taking on republicans, but had to defend Dean from attacks made by a socialist... kinda surprised me, but because I knew Dean's record and the nuances of his issues, I was able to swat the guy around... I just can't get excited about involving myself to that level for Edwards or Kerry (though, if ya wanna know the truth, I feel a little guilty about not researching their records and positions before settling on Dean. Again, I feel kinda like a sheep in that I was sold by the sweet patures of Dean's core Dem. Rhetoric and then I looked at the issues. In a perfect world, I think we'd all look at issues with no names or personalities attached, choose those that most closely align to our own ideals and only then commit to a candidate.)
So shoot me...
So my question for y'all is: How many of you have taken the time to make a point by point comparison of the field's views and picked your horse afterwards? How many of you have chosen your candidate on the basis of your gut? For those that have gone with your gut, do you feel kinda off-centered now that I've brought this up? I do.
Hey - I bring this up because Kerry keeps getting all these Liberal labels thrown at him. On the other hand, Edwards is seen more as a southern moderate/populist. As a traditional liberal, I'm thinking (and afraid) that if I did the research I beseeched so many others to do when I was a Dean supporter, I'd have to switch allegiances to Kerry if I wanted to stake any claim to intellectual honesty. But, hell - those Osama ads, his wooden tone and the "ick" factor I feel in my gut - well, they all combine to kill any inclination toward working for this guy - and researching him would be work.
Anyone else in the same boat?