Ah, just realised I may have broken the posting rules with a politics subject. My apologies.
Dear Americans
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Ha, I apparently had struck up a US politics convo with the right guy! (Not sure if you saw my final comment in our chat box). I appreciate you posting this - very interesting. I can tell you after the last election when the "news" was reporting for the 1,000th time about "undecided voters" after the last debate, my 13yo son said "who are these people that still can't make up their mind and why do they feel so compelled to vote in this election if they don't have an opinion at this point?" I think that about sums it up, right? As for the rest, check out my chat box comment as I'm not sure I want to post something so candid in a public forum.
Thought I'd post this question here, as chess.com is the only place I have any sort of regular contact with U.S. citizens.
So, the election is hotting up, and a couple of things have struck me. Firstly, I'm very jealous! I saw an interview Mitt Romney had with a Vietnam vet, who happened to be gay. To his credit, he came out and said straight, ‘I believe marriage is between a man and a woman’, without trying to duck the issue. The reason I’m jealous is because you seem to have something to vote for. I know, for example, that I would vote for Obama, because, I don’t believe marriage is just between a man and a woman. The point is, you have a clear choice you can make on a specific issue. British politics is such a dirge, since all the main parties look precisely the same as each other, at least when it comes to societal/moral questions. Same as the last U.S. election. I would also have voted for Obama, because I believe healthcare should be free at the point of use for all citizens. Clear as a bell, issue politics.
Anyway, the question I have is about presidential debates. It’s something we tried here before the last UK election, and it, well, sort of worked. What I really want to know is, does anyone seriously change their vote based on the debate performance of one candidate or another? I just can’t imagine that making sense.
ED.