Smack-talk or Just Plain Meanness?

Electing a president in our country every four years invigorates and energizes the voters. This particular time around I am basically tired--not because of the candidates and their running mates but because of how long they have been campaigning! It feels as though 2,497 people have been asking for my vote for the past six years.

One convention down and one to go, thank the Lord!

But something happened today to raise my ire. That is what I wish to share with you.

All of you know I consider myself a republican and I am in fact registered as such in my county. This is not a call for you to vote McCain. Those who know me also know I respect the right of everyone to support and vote for their candidate.

My concern today was comments made by radio personalities and the DMC response to McCain's choice of Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.

The DMC's initial response as read on television referred to Gov. Palin as "the mayor of a city of only 9,000 people." What? This is the Governor of Alaska, not a mayor!

Proper etiquette says we are to use a person's most recent title when speaking of/to them. I don't care why the mayor title was used instead of the governor title. Sen. Obama is not Mr. Obama to me--he is a senator and should be so addressed. Likewise, Gov. Palin is a governor at this point in time, not a mayor.

On a national talk radio station taking calls from all over the country today, announcers were laughing at the fact Gov. Palin "just had a baby in April. She should be home taking care of that baby, not campaigning." That is realllllly setting women in their place! (The announcers were male and female.)

If someone talks like this in trying to convince me to vote for the other person, you just lost my respect. Bring your selected facts and your reasons for support--but be willing to let me stand by my selected facts and reasons for my choice. You won't hear me disrespecting your candidate; don't do the same to mine. That's all I'm asking.

Half the people in the country disagree with me. That doesn't bother me. The other candidate also has half the country's displeasure. What makes the difference is the number of people who take the time to vote.

My mother has voted only once in her life. (She never wanted to be called for jury duty.) What got her to register and vote was the fact she talked smack until she was challenged by C, "You don't vote, you don't talk about it to me. I won't listen to you." Mom definitely wanted to have her say, so she voted!

I find it sad that of the eligible people in our country to vote so few do so. When a country finally gets around to letting their people vote, the television news shows us voters lined up for miles! How I wish that would happen here in the USA.