The Eyes Have It

As I was sitting here reviewing a recent telephone conversation, I think I found my answer, or at least the required question. The caller had been a polite lady from a local Obama headquarters. I had told her I am still undecided and she had asked if there was any information that would help me decide. I blurted, "Are you old enough to remember the Dukakis moment?" to which she answered, "Oh, you mean the tank?"

No. Of course that was not the moment. The moment was when some reporter or other asked how Dukakis would feel about the death penalty if Kitty had been raped. It was a horrible thought, but it was unscripted and the nation saw clearly into the heart of the man who would have been president. The nation judged that heart too clinical.

It is that kind of ineffable question I need answered about Obama. He is too cool. Is that real or is it a perfect facade to protect his soul and his loved ones from the piranha media? Whichever the answer or whatever the blend of the answer, I hope someone asks him a bone marrow question that makes his eyes flash warm or cold -- before I go into the voting booth.

A Gazillion Second Thoughts

So yesterday I had finally sort of settled on Obama but then yet another pollster called and asked thought provoking questions. I was still pondering my wishywashyness when I got an e-mail from my brother bashing Sarah Palin as Minnie Mouse. Is it just because I am female that immediately I felt protective for the poor woman who got lobbed into this totally unfair ping pong media game, or is it just that I have some deeply buried and surely somehow Freudian loyalty to the innate decency of Annette and all the erstwhile Mouseketeers? Hey there, hi there, ho there.