interesting choice

Americans have been offered an interesting choice when it comes to who to vote for this fall. The tickets on both sides are similar in different ways.

TIcket for the Democrats:
Obama:
- little general experience
- no foreign relations experience
- can get the minority vote
- liberal

Biden:
- lots of general experience
- lots of foreign relations experience
- can get the blue collar vote
- moderately liberal

Ticket for the Republicans:
McCain:
- lots of general experience
- lots of foreign relations experience
- can get the independent/moderate vote
- moderately conservative

Palin:
- little general experience
- no foreign relations experience
- can get the conservative & soccer mom vote
- conservative

It is interesting how similar McCain and Biden look and how similar Obama and Palin look. McCain and Biden are both the established Washington-types. They are both old, white men who have served in the Senate for decades. They are both more moderate than their running mates.

Likewise, Obama and Palin are Washington outsiders who want to shake things up. They both are young, attractive and new. Neither one has much experience and both are, in their own right, "minorities" in Washington. They both have already made history and will continue to make history if elected.

The big difference that I see is the order of the ticket. Democrats have put inexperience and newness at the top of the ticket with experience and age at the bottom. Republicans have reversed that order by putting experience and age at the top of the ticket with inexperience and newness at the bottom. It seems that each Presidential candidate has sought to bring balance to their ticket through their VP pick.

In the end, the outcome will be decided neither by the far right nor by the far left. It won't be decided by the blue states or the red states. As in past elections, this one will come down to the independents and the moderates, specifically the ones who are voting in swing states.