Remember that part in Groundhog Day where Andie MacDowell is describing her ideal man and Bill Murray checks off every item on the list as applying to himself?
This morning, I read an article in The New York Times that did that for me, except it's about undecided voters this election. Who are those people, who are still undecided two days before the election??
Well, for better or worse, I'm one of them. Of course, it doesn't really matter when you decide who to vote for, as long as it's a thoughtful process that takes place before you check a box (or punch a ballot, or press a button, or whatever) on election day. But I still fall into that "sheepish" category of undecided voters described by the NYT article.
Here is a very good description of what I've been going through these past months and weeks whenever I sit down to think about who I'm going to vote for:
Mr. Finke, a Republican, voted twice for George W. Bush. He describes himself as an economic conservative and said he had been “very impressed” with Senator John McCain. It sure sounds as if Mr. Finke is leaning toward Mr. McCain, the Arizona Republican, right?
Not so fast.
“I’m socially more liberal,” Mr. Finke said. “I think Obama is bright and has been very steady in this campaign.” He added that it would be “very exciting for the United States to elect a black president.” Besides, he does not think Mr. McCain’s running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, would be ready to step into the top job if something happened to Mr. McCain (who, Mr. Finke pointed out, “is pretty old”).
Where does this leave Mr. Finke? “I plan on doing a lot of reading this weekend,” he said.
...“I tend to be a procrastinator,” said Ms. Finke, 44, who said she operated best with deadlines.
She voted for Mr. Bush twice and describes herself as “a conservative person at heart.” At the beginning of the campaign, she was suspicious of Mr. Obama “because of the whole Hollywood thing,” [for me it's been the "Oprah thing,"] but she has since warmed to him.
“My opinion of Obama has definitely risen during this campaign,” Ms. Finke said. “And my opinion of McCain has fallen.”
So it sure sounds as if Ms. Finke is moving toward Mr. Obama, the Illinois Democrat, right?
Not so fast.
“I’d say I’m leaning towards McCain,” she said. “For as awful as things are with this Republican administration, there’s something about the whole conservative thing that appeals to me.” Put her down as “leaning McCain” then.
“But maybe I’ll vote for Obama,” she said. “How many days are left?”
In the words of Bill Murray, "Me...me...me also..."
At least I have two more days.