By Mike Wunder
(This column represents the views of the author and not the views of the UNO School of Communication.)
As I exited my polling place this morning, one question began chipping away at my pride in having completed my civic duty as a proud American citizen. Well, I suppose I had two questions, but I think it’s impossible to understand how the portly man in the Jim Esch shirt maintained such a virile mustache.
No, what was gnawing away at my content was my motivation for voting the way I did. I’m not talking about why I chose to write in Chuck Berry for every race I deemed unimportant. I know why I did that: I’m an immature little punk. I also voted not to retain any judges for the same reason.
No, what bothered me was why I towed the party line in the presidential, congressional and senatorial races. I voted Democratic in all three elections, and now I feel like a mindless oaf thoughtlessly throwing away votes.
You see, I’ve convinced myself I’m informed, intelligent and responsible. Of course, I would vote insightfully, based on factual information and rational thought. But after voting, I’m not so sure I did just that.
I could have voted for Barack Obama for many different reasons. Maybe I thought his policies on tax reform were amazing, maybe I was rebelling against my right-wing parents or maybe I was doing it to be cool. Who knows? Maybe, deep down, I voted for Barack Obama only because he has an interesting name.
Conservative voters catch a lot of heat because a majority vote for the candidate they’d most like to “have a beer with.” Honestly, I don’t think they deserve all the agitation. People like to vote for the candidate they identify with most. For a lot of conservative voters, it’s the folksy, no-bull candidate who wins their vote.
Liberals shouldn’t get on their high horses and look down upon those who cast their votes this way. After much thought, I’ve come to the conclusion that liberals vote the same way — only the criteria are different.
Where conservatives want the everyman, most liberals want an intelligent, eloquent candidate. A candidate who’s a thinker and goes against the grain. Fighting the man and working for the little guy.
It’s a dream every liberal thinker entertains. Fighting for the little guy. Making the world a better place. Not being afraid to go against the norm. That’s the image of the liberal.
I’m asking myself now, did I vote the way I did because I’m informed or because I like Obama’s image?
I know why I voted the way I did. Obama’s sappy, hope-ridden message appealed to my inner idealist. And I'm sure my fellow Obama supporters, despite how much they love to stroke their egos by spouting useless political jargon, voted the way they did for the same reasons.
A vote for Obama gives me the chance to live vicariously through him. Now I can fight for the little guy. Now I can make the world a better place. All because I voted for Obama.
You see, I voted for Obama because I like the way he presents himself -- not because I understand his policies. My vote was no more informed than the soccer mom who votes McCain because Sarah Palin understands “normal people like her.”
Maybe that’s what can bring Americans together in these troubling times: Our overall lack of knowledge regarding the way our country works.
