MauryTHINKS

Over the past five months we have watched and listened as the plethora of presidential candidates “debated” to win the favor of the Democratic and Republican faithful in the state primaries and caucuses.

Nearly 35 million “Democrats” and 20 million “Republicans have spoken and the majority of elected and super delegates have presume ably made their historic choice’s with Barack Obama, 46, and John McCain, 71. The patrician process has had the candidates speaking to the issues that “energize their party base” with liberal pacifists on the left and neo-conservatives’ on the right.

To hear the media pundits and their “panel of experts” discuss it one might conclude that everyone fits into one of two categories of liberal or conservative, hawk or dove, racist or sexist, red or blue state, etc. The problem in this latest reality TV game show is not everyone fits so nicely into either of these labels by the media.

The majority of these patrician primary voters already know who their going to vote for in November. What remains are for those who may switch parties or have not yet participated in the primaries at all. These persuadable and undecided voters will by November make up their minds about which of these two candidates should be president and those yet to be elected as our Senators and Congressman.

The Democrats are rubbing their hands together in gleeful anticipation of obtaining a veto proof congress in November. Republicans are reeling from the loss of two special congressional elections in Mississippi and Louisiana and the low approval rating of President George Bush.

In an attempt to tie McCain to Bush’s poor image, the Democrats have labeled him as running for Bush’s third term. McCain counters that Barack Obama is running for Jimmy Carter’s second term, referring to his liberalism, inexperience and nativity.

The truth is, most American voters are not very ideological and would be better described as simultaneously “philosophically conservative” and “operationally liberal.”

Most Americans will complain that our Federal Government is too big, too costly, too intrusive and too unresponsive and then when a catastrophic event occurs like Hurricane Katrina they over react and demand to know “where’s the Federal government when you need them?”

Hillary Clinton, who won the popular democratic primary popular vote but lost the nomination, held off conceding to and endorsing Obama to pressure him into accepting her as his vice-presidential running mate.

This “dream ticket” is unlikely as the majority his “base” does not want Hillary as their vice president and the question of “what about Bill” remains a problem.

In a recent poll over 20 percent of Clinton’s base of “white working class,” of men, women and Hispanics say they are likely to vote for McCain if she is not on the democratic ticket. All this leads people like David Bosits, a senior political analyst, to conclude that the “white working class” is less important today then it once was in politics because as a group its much smaller in proportion to the national voting population, which is becoming more diverse.

The “white working class” he says are non-college educated white hourly workers, a group Obama labeled as “bitter rural white republicans in small towns who cling to their guns and religion.”

Still many republican conservatives and evangelicals are not pleased about McCain being their nominee and point to McCain’s maverick nature on such issues as the Bush tax cut, immigration, gay rights, war oil drilling and the South Carolina state flag.

Some republicans go so far as to claim it doesn’t matter which candidate is elected because in either case a democrat will be in the White House. The only difference between McCain and Obama they say is their position on Iraq and Iran.

McCain’s polls show strong support from veterans, gun owners and groups strong on national security, including Jews and the Christian right who support Israel. McCain, to reassure key evangelical conservatives and keep them in his camp, now say he will appoint strict “constitutionalist judges” to the U.S. Supreme Court and enforce our immigration laws.

Whatever your beliefs or political leanings, one thing is certain. We will now begin to hear both candidates leave their “party base” vernacular and begin to move more center on issues of the economy, education, health care, immigration, energy, taxes, global warming, Iraq, Iran, trade, gay rights and American foreign policy.

The other mathematical certainly is that the non-party bases voters, of independents, democratic persuadable, republican persuadable, Ron Paul republicans, blue dog Democrats, compassionate conservatives and undecided evangelicals will ultimately decide who will be the next president and who will be elected in one-third of the Senate seats and 435 House of Representative seats.

Bush may have low approval ratings but the U.S. congress has even lower ratings. Most Americans are fed up with the party first and patriotism second.

Putting image and oratory skills aside, over the next 5 months America’s undecided voters should listen to candidates and in the process become more informed on the issues and choose representatives that will best serve our Nation, not a party.

The next government they get will be the government they chose.

Mike Bennett is a retiree living in Spring Hill and a former bargaining chairman of the United Auto Workers Local 1853.