Why I love uninformed voters so much

I love it that they have such strong opinions with so little information, and that they feel so right when they don't have a leg to stand on, and that they say such outrageously biased things that they inspire responsible people to fly into my bulletin board and answer them.

I've been away from my bulletin board for awhile, due to traveling and other obligations, but a few weeks ago I happened to notice that a very decent, logical person was being ganged up on and I stepped in to right that problem.

Then I looked around and found statements that made my mouth drop open in astonishment. Some of the logic of some of the most self-assured posters was stupefyingly illogical in its conclusions. I couldn't believe they were serious: You can't trust Obama to ever tell the truth because he went back on his word about taking public financing for his campaign, and that wasn't the same thing as someone (like, say, McCain) 'changing his position' on torture, tax breaks for the rich, etc. etc.

Their posts reminded me of the logic of some very close members of my family who are either too old or too emotional for me to consider arguing with. But I'm so curious about that logic? Is it based on ignorance? Or are they trying to justify voting for McCain because they don't want to admit why they're really doing it? (which is -- god knows what). What are they thinking?

So until I drove them into corners with my cheerful but relentless search for their logic, it has been a daily drama for me, jumping in for the last ten or so days to respond to the kinds of statements that have made me splutter, say WTF? and, in general, launch me into debate mode. Only a couple of people were saying these astonishing and weird things, and I think I've finally driven them into silence, unfortunately. But arguing with them felt so good. I was happy.

And I owe it all to them, and others who I'm calling 'uninformed voters.' Their thinking not only gave me the enthusiasm to state my position (when I hadn't really bothered before, because most people I know are pretty much in agreement with me) but helped me develop arguments in case I confront an uninformed voters when in my daily travels through Manhattan's Upper West Side. (I haven't found any such people yet, of course.)

If this calms me down and keeps me amused I may have the courage to call undecided voters in these last days before the election, which I feared to do before because

1. I was afraid I'd lose control and start biting the phone and then my hands if I were confronted with similar foolishness, and

2. I was afraid they'd toss some fake fact at me (like my relatives, who get all their facts from the Drudge Report, do) and I wouldn't have enough information to answer them.

But now I've found the humor and self-control -- you could say that I've been vaccinated against number 1., and I've become more educated as I read what other people on my board are answering (when they get through spluttering) so I may be prepared for number 2.

So I'm about to call Barack headquarters and try some phoning to the undecideds (who absolutely have to be uninformed - there can't be any other reason they'd be undecided).

And I owe it all to the uninformed voters on my bulletin board. So I love them.

Now, let me see if I can reconstruct how it all happened and get anyone who bothers to read this blog up to speed with this jolly drama. Or, if you'd like to read the posts yourself, head over to http://www.barbarasher.com/boards/viewforum.php and find the forum on politics and jump right in.