I really don't remember what I was doing, probably trying to separate one coffee filter from the others, when I heard somebody on MSNBC's Morning Joe say that the 2008 presidential election may well be decided by educated white males over 50.
"Hey", I remember thinking, "that's me"!
Apparently the Democratic Candidates in particular will be jilting "Soccer Moms" this year, in an effort to win over what one pundit lamely called "Office Park Dads". (Yeah, I know...awkward.)
Yet, despite being a Liberal Democrat living in Florida, I haven't been courted by Barack, Hillary or John. Not only has there been no noisy rallies in my neighborhood, I haven't even gotten a simple push-poll phone call or slick brochure in the mail.
I realize this cold shoulder treatment isn't actually the fault of the candidates.
Thanks to our State Legislature, the Florida Primary was set earlier this year than ever before. This, in turn, really ticked off the movers and shakers in both the Democratic and Republican National Committees. The RNC stripped the state of half its convention delegates while the DNC decreed that no elected delegates would be admitted to their convention at all.
Democratic Candidates also pledged not to "actively" campaign in the state.
So here I was today, fighting traffic, to cast my vote in what the pundits are calling a "beauty contest", thinking how much fun it would be to be a pundit.
The notice taped to the door of my usual polling place said the voting precinct was moved from an elementary school, to a meeting room in a Holiday Inn, just outside the Why Not? Lounge. For years, the Why Not was known as middle age pick up bar. Now, it has a comedy club on the weekends, but is still known as a local "meet market", where over amplified music and cheap drinks lead to sordid stories often deficient in traditional family values...
...or so they tell me.
As I slipped my completed ballot into the optical scanner, I thought "what better place could there be to curry favor with us 50 plus educated white guys".