Welcome to America

A few days ago I decided I wouldn't write about Sarah Palin on this blog. I think it's old news, and since the world is still suspended somewhere in the universe, whizzing frantically around the sun, certainly there are other, more interesting things to talk about.

So I'm not going to jump on the band wagon and rehash everything that's been said about her career or her family, or even the fact that she does look a little bit like Tina Fey.

I am, however, going to come very close to the subject to say that as much as most of America (myself included) keeps talking about how ludicrous it is that women will vote for her only because she herself is a woman, and that she has no experience for the job etc. that might not really matter.

Why? Because we live in America.

I remember hearing this story four years ago from a friend of my parents, in the midst of the Kerry/Bush race.

My parents friend knew a woman that had been on an airplane - I don't remember where they were flying - but she was sitting across the aisle from John and Teresa Heinz Kerry. This woman, we'll call her Jan, said that during the entire flight John Kerry was talking to his wife, and while she wasn't really listening in on their conversation, it was obvious he was trying to explain himself or apologize for something. Mrs. Kerry didn't even acknowledge him. The entire flight she gave him the cold shoulder, not responding, not arguing just pulling the very successful Ican'thearyouIcan'thearyou maneuver.

The most interesting part of this story, though, is Jan's response.

She said, "I'd rather have Laura."

Even at the time, when I couldn't vote yet and for that matter wasn't even sure of what I believed, I found this disconcerting. To me, since Laura Bush and Teresa Kerry weren't actually running for anything, I didn't really care who they were. Sure, they matter to their husbands and families, but certainly there had to be something more important to Jan (and, I guess, to America) than the attitude of a spouse on one day of her entire life.

Then again, we live in America. We're interested, whether we want to admit it or not, in the story of it all. This election isn't merely a match-up between the Democrats and Republicans, it's a contest. A team sport.

I think, for a lot of Americans, it's a contest of who is the "better person." I know who I'm voting for, but still, I like thinking about the descriptions of the candidates without any names or affiliations. It seems a pretty accurate slice of America.

A Harvard alum who came from nothing but a diverse background; A survivor, truly, of both war and cancer; A widower, family man and frequent patron of public transit; And a working mother with a large family from a small town.

I think you have to admit, as far as stories go, that one is pretty good.