This Crazy-Making Election

I've been looking at the latest presidental election polling with high hopes. I thought as Nov. 4 nears, Americans would get serious, and the numbers would show McCain improving and Obama slipping. While tonight the big news is that McCain and Obama are even in Missouri, other states show fluctuations in Obama's favor.

I spoke to a friend who was recruited by the McCain campaign to boost the base in Nevada. She's encouraged by her efforts, but daunted by the scope of her task. Florida, meanwhile, seems split once again, leaning very slightly to Obama at the moment, and we're all skeptical enough after eight years ago not to tolerate hanging chads.

Meanwhile, I read a piece on ABC's online portal by Michael S. Malone, long-time tech journalist, that acknowledges the obvious--the media obnoxiously and arrogantly flaunt their Obama-sympathies, putting opinions on the front page and letting Obama questionables slide while blowing up like volcanoes even items distant to the McCain campaign.

I'd heard accusations that the media were suppressing questions about Obama's qualification for the presidency; charges that the candidate was born in Kenya and not eligible to run for office. A convincing post on FactCheck.org laid my doubts to rest--they examined and photographed Obama's Hawaii-issued birth certification.

My big fear is that Obama's sounding platitudinous and centrist enough to coax votes but once in office will revert to his crippling leftist agenda.

A breathtaking Howard Stern show man-on-the-street poll by his sidekick Sal features Harlem, New York residents saying they love Obama and are cool with his support of right-to-life and staying in Iraq till we win. They say they're comfortable with Obama's choice of Sarah Palin as vice-presidential running mate, and that she'd do just fine as president, should Obama be unable to serve. In other words, these voters gung-ho for Obama have no idea what he stands for or who he's selected as his Number Two.

It's that runaway emotionalism that could get our nation into economic ruin in an attempt to "spread the wealth" down to those clueless voters. Trouble is, when Obama's taxmen go to find the wealth to spread, the smart people who earned it will also know how to hide it. And they'll be less motivated to sacrifice and push to accumulate it. Especially if their heirs have to sell the biz and family homestead to give half of that hard-earned profit--which was already taxed once--to the government.

This week I'm the chauffeur, cook, adviser and money-doler for our 16-year-old son (who takes his driving test Thursday) as my husband hits the road doing his bit to show voters why they're better served by McCain. It's tougher here without him, though nothing compared to the brave families who carry on for months and years while their husbands and wives in the military work in harm's way halfway around the globe.

And that's the bottom line. Most voters don't care much about politics or policies. It's the daily struggles and rewards that make up our lives, and at this point I've got to stop looking at poll numbers, perhaps pray a little more, and appreciate these crisp fall days and the astonishing colors of our world.