Still undecided for president

By Jeff Hage (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, October 24, 2008

I’m ready for the presidential election season to be over.

It has me uninspired. I’m struggling to find a candidate who rocks my world and makes me want to run to city hall in order to give him my vote.

And while I would never consider wasting my vote, it appears to me that there may never have been a better year to use that write-in line and cast a vote for Donald Duck.

I like both Barack Obama and John McCain as people and don't think we can go wrong with either given the choice we have for president.

But neither candidate excites me. Neither candidate makes me want to rush to the polls.

I’m gearing up for my sixth presidential election, and over the course of time I have been excited by the election.

Take 1984 for example. It was my first election.

I grew up watching Jimmy Carter as president. You had to love the Carters and the Democratic Party at the time. How could you not love Rosalynn as our first lady, or Miss Lilian, Jimmy’s mom. We also inherited a character in brother Billy, who embarrassed the President with his peanut farming and beer-swilling ways. He even had his own beer — Billy Beer — brewed right down the road in Cold Spring.

The Carter administration also brought us Walter Mondale. Mondale was the first presidental candidate I ever voted for. I was also one of the few.

I passed up voting for Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush in favor of fellow Minnesotan Mondale, who was the protégé of one of my American heroes, the great Hubert H. Humphrey.

Mondale got his tail kicked, 13 electoral votes to Reagan’s 525. Mondale carried only one state — Minnesota.

Four years later I switched my loyalties to the “Senior Bush.” It seemed like a good idea because the frontrunner was Michael Dukakis, who as I remember was nick-named “Zorba the Clerk.” The Democratic Party didn’t seem like a good place to be hanging out with candidates Jesse Jackson, Richard Gephardt, and Al Gore slinging mud. Gary Hart was a fan favorite, but his campaign went down the tubes after an alleged affair with Donna Rice made his numbers plummet. Then there was this guy named Joe Biden — Obama’s running mate — who was a popular candidate but withdrew from the race after being accused of plagiarizing a speech. That sure makes me think about our current election and the character of the Obama-Biden ticket.

In 1992 I voted for my all-time favorite president, Bill Clinton. He would later make famous the saxophone, blue dresses, and the failure to inhale. But what were our choices?

He ran against George H.W. Bush, but his running mate Dan Quayle had trouble pronouning words like potato. And that Ross Perot Guy…his big oil money and big ears scared me.

Clinton got my vote again in 1996. I just plain liked the guy. Despite the scandals and impeachments Clinton faced, I still stand behind my decision because 10 years later all I remember opponent Bob Dole for is his sales pitches for “the little blue pill.”

In 2000 we learned about hanging chads, the “Junior Bush” and Al Gore, the man who somehow credits himself with inventing the Internet.

The 2004 election will forever be the most favorite of my lifetime. I was living in Des Moines working as the managing editor of a chain of weekly newspapers prior to the election and had the opportunity to meet almost every presidential candidate as they sought ink leading up to the Iowa Caucus. I even got to ride through Iowa for a few days on Bob Graham’s campaign RV while he and his family spent their “summer vacation” on the campaign trail.

This year, I just don’t know. Some days I support Democrats. Other days I support GOPs. Somedays I feel like I should just support a cartoon character.

I have 10 days to figure it all out so I can keep Donald Duck off the ballot.

And Goofy — I’ll save him for one of those city council races because based on name alone he sounds better than a candidate named Metasonics.