The Dagley Dagley Daily

By Janet Dagley Dagley
Covering the world from the waterfront in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA

ISSN 1544-9114

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The Swing Voter

As Howard Dean was announcing the end of his candidacy this afternoon, I happened to be on my way to Manhattan to visit my friend The Swing Voter. The Swing Voter and I get together a few times a year so he can cut my hair, or so that he and his girlfriend and Michael and I can go someplace interesting for dinner. He's been my friend for nearly seven years now, and has the distinction of having been the first person (other than my husband, who brought me here) to welcome me to New York -- a most unwelcoming place indeed. For that, if nothing else, he has earned my lasting friendship, even though he and I disagree on just about everything political.

"I would never have voted for Dean," he told me this afternoon as he offered condolences on the loss of my candidate. I assured him that I will vote for whichever Democrat gets the nomination, and explained the concept of the Yellow Dog. This year, however, I'm even more flexible. It doesn't have to be yellow. It doesn't have to be a dog. It can be a cat. It can be blue with polka dots. If it's Kucinich: most of what he says will be not only right but right on target. If it's Sharpton: he, too, would be not only right but right on target most of the time, and besides that, he'd get people to vote who usually don't bother. If it's Edwards: sounds like he's one heck of a campaigner and debater. If it's Kerry" --

"If it's Kerry, I might vote for him," my friend interrupted, and it's a good thing I was already sitting down because until that moment, I didn't even know that my friend was a Swing Voter. Last time we discussed politics over dinner, he was referring to the blond Senator from New York as "Hitlery". I assumed, based on that and everything else I'd ever heard from him, that he'd be voting for the Republican nominee, even if that turned out to be a yellow -- anyway, my friend went on to explain that he is one of those coveted few: a Swing Voter.

"I pay attention, I read and I listen and I take my time and then I decide, " he said. "It doesn't matter which party they're in. For me, it's the person. There's no other way to do it that makes any sense to me."

I allowed as how I'd voted for an Independent or a Republican on occasion, and even a Green before I realized how pointless that is in the hard-hitting, two-team gridiron battle that is American presidential politics. If we had a parliamentary system, or even if we didn't have the Electoral College and could simply elect our president directly, then more than two parties would make sense. But we're not there yet.

"I voted for Clinton once, and against him once," the Swing Voter confided. "I voted for Bush once, but I'm not sure about voting for him again. So I'm going to be watching Kerry. I want to see if he is taking the war on terrorism seriously, if he understands that this is something that's going to last the rest of our lives, that isn't about any particular country or person. I want to see what Kerry's going to do about it."

The Swing Voter, like both Bush and Kerry, was in the military during the Vietnam era, although he was sent to Korea. He got no medals. He flew no planes. He did have to show up when they ordered him to, and keep showing up until they ordered him not to.

The Swing Voter is concerned about issues like health care: he's an independent businessman and finds it nearly impossible to buy health insurance these days. He's learned what Medicare does and doesn't cover as he deals with his elderly mother's medical problems, and he isn't inclined to trade that protection for partial prescription drug coverage down the road.

Being a businessman himself, the Swing Voter isn't as concerned about the loss of jobs per se, but he does worry about the stock market. A few years ago -- like a lot of Americans -- he was all set for retirement with dot.com investments that had paid off handsomely on paper. Now -- like a lot of Americans -- he's going to have to wait a bit longer to retire.

Most of all, the Swing Voter likes knowing that his vote matters so much. He likes knowing that both parties are seeking his attention, his approval, his support, and in the process, learning to match their words to his views. I envy him in a way, but I can't even pretend to be a Swing Voter in this election. Does that make my vote less valuable? Maybe so, during the campaign. But not on election day. Meanwhile, I can tell you this: I'll be getting my hair cut a little more often between now and November, so's to have a few more chances to persuade the Swing Voter.

posted by Janet Dagley Dagley @6:57 PM

18.2.04