Electorate

I was talking to a co-worker the other day about the upcoming election. We both lamented how we had problems with the prospective candidates. (My concerns are well-documented, should you be interested.) I didn't press her on her issues with McCain. I figure it's either the obvious stuff, or I really don't care. I'd have been more interested if she said she liked him, because that would have been something I was unable to comprehend, and I'm often intrigued by that which I don't understand.

But then we got to talking about Obama, and how she didn't trust him. A statement like that is hard to resist. "Oh?" I asked. "Why not?" She replied "He's too calm." Hmmm... I agreed, relating how I'd heard someone on NPR voice a concern similar, one that I've held as long as I've been aware of Obama. He is calm. He's almost passionless, at times. An even keel, for sure, and a brilliant counterpoint to McCain's zig zag clusterfuck of a campaign. I have felt, as did the bloke on NPR, that the accusation that Obama is "passionless" isn't too far off the mark. When has he ever stood up for anything that didn't seem politically expedient, when it wasn't the safe maneuver? Not that any of that matters, not that that is really relevant here. It was just a point I'd heard, agreed with, and communicated to my co-worker.

But apparently Mancow had got her thinking. (Yeah, I know, that should have brought the conversation to an end right there.) "He's too calm," she repeated. "Too calm?" I asked. "Yeah, almost like he's been trained."

Super. I have got to get to the bottom of this. And you know, I'm not one to bite my tongue. (Call me tactless, call me socially maladjusted, call me a crusader for truth. Whatever.) "Like he's a sleeper agent or something?"

"Yeah!"

That led to my final question before she left for lunch: "And what would be the point of a terrorist becoming president?"

"Because that's what they want."

Okay.

If you haven't already voted, please do so Tuesday.