At this point in the election cycle, I'm trying to avoid anything and everything political. I've given up trying to discern which parts of America are racist (western Pennsylvania, apparently) and which parts contain anti-American Americans (thankfully not North Carolina, I guess). So, caller ID helps us avoid the robo-calls and we don't listen to the messages left behind. The mailers are glanced at on the walk from the mailbox to the recycle bin only for the amusement value ("my opponent voted for quadzillions of dollars of new taxes", "My economic plan will create a 42 million new high-paying jobs"). TV ads are tuned out or clicked away from. Fox News and MSNBC are never EVER turned on. Bulk e-mails are treated like potential viruses (deleted w/o opening). Newspaper columns from omniscient partisans are passed over. The blogosphere w/ its frenzied hordes of overwhelmingly irrational screamers is avoided like a coiled and cornered copperhead. If anyone tries to steer the conversation to the politics, Dolberry steers the conversation to softball or the weather. (OK, I do that for any non softball/weather conversations.)
So, a lot of people ask me how I pick who to vote for. It's simple, really.
I go by the jockey's silks. In the early races on the ballot (judges, sanitation commissioner, anything to do w/ agriculture, etc.) you want to take someone wearing bright colors, yellows and oranges preferably. These candidates almost always win and pay reasonably at the windows. A good example is this weekend's Breeders Cup Sprint where Midnight Lute won (pictured above). Later down on the ballot, you want someone w/ a star or horseshoe on their vest. They may not win, but they will always finish in the money (unless they are a libertarian or gelding). In the big races, you want some sort of green ... just not green and gold ... those colors are an abomination together.
