I am looking forward to November 3. On that day, we will begin to see the true results of the election, and get beyond the mindnumbing speculation that has been inaccurate by pollsters' consistent refusal to include candidates such as Badnarik, Cobb, and Peroutka in their polling data.
My theory is that this election will be rather interesting due to the internet. As I speak with the average joe on the street, I find a larger percentage of them have heard of Badnarik, even if they do not support him. This, in itself means much.
The internet has already emerged as a major player in this presidential election; I personally am proud of my barely read "scoop" on Kerry's Yucca Mountain position, from research that I had done, that preceded the campaign commercials detailing the same information by more than TWO WEEKS. And there is the now infamous blogger expose of CBS News' forged documents that has factored greatly in public opinions of the candidates.
The candidates themselves recognize the internet's role; before the debate had even concluded, they were emailing major news outlets with their spin on the debate, and fresh material was in the hands of bloggers everywhere before the candidates had exited the auditorium.
The internet is an exciting medium that has outstanding potential to change the political face of the country. I have long contended that, used correctly, it potentially stands as the "great equalizer" for third party candidates. While it may not realize the fullness of its potential in this year's election, I think we are in for a few surprises come election night (I am more than certain that Badnarik will outpace Nader, and in fact, expect the Green Party traitor to come in third among the minor parties to the man who engineered his ouster as the GP darling, David Cobb). The shame is, the pollsters haven't gotten the news yet.
But then, it took a lot of hounding for them to pick up the story on the documents.
respectfully submitted,
Gideon MacLeish