Paper or Plastic? Hmmmm.

Ben Tripp examines the undecided voter:

If you shout "fire" in a crowded theater, most people will respond, one way or another. Most of them will run out onto the sidewalk and start to form a lynch mob; some of them will boldly check the theater for combustion-related activities. The undecided voter is the guy still sitting there in the middle of row 43. And not because there wasn't a fire. This mug just can't make up his mind whether to burn to death or see the rest of the movie.

Tripp goes on to identify three types of undecided voter--there are probably more than three types, but three always fits nicely into written or spoken opinion (well, for the record, Tripp actually identifies FOUR types, but dead people are likely to remain torn between Bush, Kerry, or a minor party candidate). First, there are the contrarians ("you can't make me!"), then you've got the attention mongers ("yes, I'd be happy to take your takes-forever-to-complete, god-awful-survey--and did I tell you about the time I almost broke my leg skiing?"), and finally, the true undecided, who's place on the linear hierarchy of existence is somewhat below that of slime molds. That might be a little harsh, though, considering their peergroup--reporters for the mainstream media (OK, not you, Ian)--really haven't given them much to go by.

In his second paragraph, though, Tripp makes note of an interesting group of people which the media is doing their level best to ignore--GOP'ers who've finally had enough. Daily Kos has a page that notes some of the more significant individuals and organizations that recognize the danger of four more years of Bush. Compare and contrast Kos's list with another--the list of beliefs held by Bush's supporters of things that are just plain wrong. Not open to argument--but demonstrably false.

Why hasn't the media noted that? If the reverse was true, i.e., if a Democratic candidate for president was leaking this kind of support, the media would most likely be asking "how big of a rout will it be?" Yet, they've simply omitted this story, proving that the propagandist's most effective tool is often silence.

And, if you think about it, the media HAS gone out of their way to profile the reverse--we were treated to "40 minutes of Zell" during the coronation ceremony for the dauphin, followed by the first serious attempt to have a live duel in the television age...