Personal Presidential Issues

I like taking surveys.

That should come as no surprise to you. After all, I'm a blogger...someone who thrives on telling the world what I think about everything and anything under the sun.

Serendipity came for a visit a few months ago when I got one of those emails from Zogby asking if I wanted to take their surveys. When I see Zogby poll results cited in the media, I've often wondered how representative the responses are of an opinionated and diverse cross-section of the population. I've questioned how well the responses have represented me.

After all, I'm decent looking five foot six and a half (claiming 5' 7" officially) woman who lives in LA. I have black, Irish and Native American heritage. I'm not a member of any political party but I've voted in every election I could since I was eighteen. I believe in God more than I believe in myself. I'm a vegetarian who needs to get better at sustainable living. I adore Depeche Mode like there's no tomorrow, and I'm a mom who has a lot to say, just like you do too, I'm sure.

So, I figured, sure, why not? Why wait for someone else to represent me when I can represent myself?

The surveys usually come once a week but, for the sake of time, I usually do only one or two per month. There's always a question asking how I rate President Bush's job performance. Then there's the question that wants to know what I think is the most pressing issue facing America. I can only pick one pressing issue. I dislike that question. After all, it's pretty hard for me to, for example, pick health care or education but not both.

Racism is never a choice on the list. Neither is gender inequality or the extremes of wealth and poverty.

The survey makers also ask questions that I suppose are trying to help them figure out what demographic I belong to. They always want to know if I shop at Wal-Mart. Unfortunately, they don't have a box to check that says " When hell freezes over," so I have to check "never" instead.

They also always ask if I'm into Nascar. I really think they should have a response option like, "Um, is that where they race cars around a track?" But, they don't, so I suppose that's why I always answer, "No".

So, I did one of these surveys the other day and they had a gazillion questions about our potential presidential candidates. This question in particular gave me pause:

Which of the following personal issues is of the greatest concern to you in electing a president? (Choose only ONE.)
	Rudolph Guiliani's multiple divorces
	Hillary Clinton's marriage to Bill Clinton
	Mitt Romney being a Mormon
	Fred Thompson's young wife
	John McCain's age
	Barack Obama's race
	John Edwards wife's illness
	Bill Richardson's ethnicity
	Michael Bloomberg being accused of sexual harassment
	None/other
	Not sure

My first reaction was that this line of questioning just shows how typical it is that people equate being a different race (Obama) or ethnicity (Richardson) with clearly immoral and wrong things like Bloomberg's alleged sexual harassment. Seriously, I am a little annoyed that they consider race and ethnicity "personal issues".

Wow. Great choice of wording, survey makers. Someone give y'all a raise or something.

Then I started to wonder what Elizabeth Edward's being ill really has to do with anything? We should be praying for her, not politicizing her health.

John McCain's age? Haven't the survey makers heard that being 70-something is the new 50?

Rudy G's divorces? Really, I'm sure it hurts his heart more than it's hurting mine.

Hillary Clinton's marriage? Is her relationship with Bill supposed to tell me anything about what's she's going to do about those pressing issues?

Mitt Romney as a Mormon. Okaay...and I care why? Am I supposed to worry he's gonna start marrying interns instead of, ahem, doing other things with them?

Fred Thompson and his wife. He's an actor and this is Hollywood. There are a lot of old men with young, jail bait looking wives out here. Not saying it's right, but that's the way it is. And I don't see America switching off the TV or boycotting theatres because of it.

Bloomberg? Has he even announced his candidacy? And isn't he innocent until proven guilty?

On the other hand, they left Dennis Kucinich out of this question. So maybe I should deduce from this that Dennis has no personal issues, and therefore, I should vote for him. Wouldn't that be interesting. Dennis K. as President of the United States of America...because he has no personal issues.

Really, who among us doesn't have issues? You and I both know that there are some people who have definite issues...here, let me go look in the mirror to see if I'm one of them.

Ok, self assessment complete. Yes, I have some issues. And now that I know my race is an issue, I suppose I should add that to my list of "Liz's Issues To Resolve Before The Apocalypse".

I know, I know. These "personal issues" are real things that some folks are going to base their vote on, so I shouldn't really be so taken aback by this question. But, I am.

My answer choice was, of course, "None/other". I wonder how many other Americans taking the survey answered the same.

The Interview

Have you ever wondered a few things about some of the bloggers you visit regularly? Well, if you have, you'll be happy to know that there's an interview meme floating around!

I volunteered to be interviewed by Velvet at Secret Suburban Misfit. She sent five questions for me to answer about myself and voila, here are my answers.

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

This blog will celebrate it's fourth birthday this coming August. Yeah, it's been a long time. I'm really trying to remember why I started blogging without projecting my current thoughts/perspective onto who I was then or what I was feeling four years ago. When I go back and read my first few posts, they annoy me immensely. I suppose years from now I'll come back and read this post and probably feel the same way.

Anyway, I digress. I believe there are two main reasons I started blogging:

First, I needed a creative outlet. I hadn't been writing much at all when I began blogging and I felt frustrated and blocked. Just stuck. I wanted to write but I wasn't writing, and you aren't a writer unless you're actually writing. (duh!) Essentially, I really missed having some form of creative expression and I needed a low stakes way for me to once again feel the magic of putting words together.

Second, (I feel a little "confessional" writing this, but I'll go ahead and fess up) I was also a little lonely. I didn't have much of a life at the time, and didn't have many people I could really talk to. I was a mom to two small boys and all I did was go to work and come home and change diapers. There's nothing wrong with changing diapers and certainly, the most important thing I will ever do is be a mother, but...you know what I mean. I needed somewhere to put my thoughts, opinions and observations and those can't always be told to a three year-old or the people around you. Sometimes because they don't want to hear it, sometimes because they are too busy themselves to be able to listen, even if they wanted to. And so, the blog was born.

2. You're granted the superpower of your choice. What do you choose and why?
This is the easiest question of the bunch. I'm so jealous of Hiro Nakamura from the show Heroes. I want his ability to teleport himself to and fro and bypass that pesky time/space continuum.

When I was little, I used to fantasize that I could travel back to the late 1700s or to the Regency period. My mom had to remind me that I might not want to do that because then I'd most likely be a slave, or else I might catch cholera, smallpox, tuberculosis...wow, the good old days weren't all that good, were they?

3. If you could share one thing or time from your childhood with your own children, what or when would it be and why?

Some of my fondest childhood memories are of working in the yard with my mom. We'd plant flowers and pull the weeds out of the flower beds. It was so nice to be outside in the dirt, the hot summer sun beating down, worms slithering against my hand, black ants scurrying to and fro and grey roly poly bugs balling themselves up if I poked them. I'd help dig deep holes for peonies and rose bushes. Once, we planted a crab apple tree, which was quite an accomplishment. That tree is huge now.

There's something grounding about planting things and watching them grow and I want to pass that on to my boys. I really think the reason we have so many environmental problems now is that there are too many people who've never had the experience of working the earth so there's less of a connection.

4. If you had to leave LA, where would you move if you could choose anywhere in the world to live? Why?

Ok, the fantasy is that I'm moving to Villefranche-sur-Mer, France. It's on the Riviera between Monaco and Nice. Look at that picture. Doesn't that look amazing? I mean, who wouldn't want to live there?

If not there, well, it's no secret that I absolutely love Santa Barbara, California.

Both places, it's all about the ocean, mountains, and that special hint of mystery and romance.

5. You can invite five living people to meet for dinner. Who would you choose?

Living people. Only five. Hmm... Out of the people I know, how do I only pick five? I just don't think I can do it, so I"m going to only pick famous people.

1) Martin Gore of Depeche Mode: Martin is the heart and soul of Depeche Mode and since they are my absolute favorite band in the world, it's a no brainer that Mart is gonna be sitting down for dinner with me.

I think he's the best songwriter of our time. Plus, he sings, plays keyboards and guitar. I'd ask him how it felt to discover well into adulthood that his biological father is black. I ask him about the process he uses to write songs. I'd probably make singing a song optional, but I definitely wouldn't mind hearing a tune or two.



2) Orlando Bloom: A/K/A "Will Turner" from POTC but B/K/A "Legolas" from LOTR. Is that enough acronyms for you?

If you're a reader of this blog, you knew this one was coming. Why Orlando? Well, I want to hear about his spiritual quest and how his life has changed since becoming a Buddhist, and is he doing real Buddhism or the Hollywood version. I want to hear about his environmental activism, how he feels about his acting abilities, and, cough, I want a picture with him so I can stop posing with the full-size Legolas poster.

3) Barack Obama: I have been a Barack fan since he ran for Senate. He's got heart, he's got spark, and I sort of wish he wasn't running for president because he's so great. I want to know how it feels to have to have the Secret Service stalking you. I want to hear what he plans to do about education in America. He can bring his wife Michelle with him too because I really like her.

4) Chuck D: I remember the first time I heard It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back by Public Enemy. Chuck D's voice was so powerful, so distinctive. It was a voice of social consciousness, a voice asking tough questions about racism in our society. I got the opportunity to interview him in 1994 and it was a profound experience. Now that Chuck's a few years shy of fifty, he's focusing more on his political and social activism, which isn't a huge surprise since that's what he's always been about. I also always like that not trying to promote himself more than the cause he's talking about.

And in case you think I'm just trying to sit at a table full of men, last but not least...

5) My sister: OK, I know I said famous people but it's either my sister or Angelina Jolie and so I pick my sister to come to dinner with me. My sister Cyndee is one of coolest people I know. She's seven years older than me and about five inches shorter than I am. She's seriously the most type-A, OCD/neat-freak person I've ever known. And she's a police officer/polygraph examiner (so she knows when you're lying). She'd be great at this dinner party because she can talk to anyone about anything and she's not going to be annoying and fawn all over some folks just because they're famous.

If you wish to do this meme:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions. (They probably won't be the same ones you see above!)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.