Let's Vote Already

I watched parts of the second Presidential debate, read the transcript, and listened to some of the post-debate spin by supporters of each who said their candidate won. Both men got their points across, and neither said anything that would hurt their candidacy.

I wish we could vote already--yes, we can cast an absentee ballot by mail, but going to the polling place is part of the American civic experience--since I find it hard to believe that there are many Americans who truly haven't made up their minds. Let's get on with it.

Further thoughts:

The instant-polls seem to be saying that President Obama won, but not overwhelmingly. That result is okay, I suspect, even to his detractors. As President he represents everyone, and another embarrassingly bad performance wouldn't help the national self-esteem.

Debating is a specialized skill that doesn't have much to do with good decision-making, the leadership of the armed forces, the selection of competent people (especially judges), or getting legislation passed. Neither, for that matter, is fund-raising.

Political junkies can recite the history of changes to Governor Romney's health care positions or to the Obama Administration's statements on Libya, but the rest of us, probably sensibly, don't choose to spend our lives that way. It's probably unfair that our votes count just as much as those who spend their lives studying issues, but that's the system we've got.

Two quotes from Winston Churchill:

The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.

It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.