After Wednesday’s Presidential debate, one network interviewed a group of people who, going into the event, were still undecided about who to vote for. Some claimed they made their decisions that evening, but some said they didn’t know, even after the debate.
The person questioning the crowd seemed surprised and asked, “What do you need to hear?” or words to that effect. In other words, it is time to decide.
That may be hard to do when both candidates have “gone low” for so long. Many people will not be voting for a person so much as voting for the party that holds most true to their own political leanings, while wishing that party had nominated Someone Else.
Perhaps the system for choosing the nominees needs to change. Parties reward the most powerful, lifelong politicians, while the only alternative is for populists to insist on voting for “outsiders” during the primaries. The first option is often unsatisfying. The problem with the latter option is that so-called outsiders often have no track record to run on and so the people’s choice comes down to the person who is most outrageous or popular in an entertaining way, regardless of that person’s qualifications.
And yet, come election day, we need to be as informed as possible, and then we need to vote. As one party reminds us, voters need to “finish the ballot” and vote for state and local officials as well. The next leaders may emerge from those elected in 2016.