The Undecideds

Is that even a word? "Undecideds", the plural noun? Pundits these days use it when describing that portion of the American electorate who is just that... undecided, as in the current election process. My thought: what the hell?! What's taking so long? Decide already!
I'm astounded watching these focus groups on debate nights, saying stuff like, "Well, I voted Bush in '04, but McCain has a bad temper so I'm thinking more about Obama." As much as I like that answer (and its truthfulness), it is ridiculous to me that people today let each 24-hour news cycle sway them so radically. These are two polar opposite candidates. One debate doesn't say it all, one story about ACORN or Congress or Vietnam or the Alaskan pipeline does not say it all about these two teams vying for the presidency. All the information is out there, if you want to know something, Google it. If you have questions about policy, resume, philosophy, check out the respective websites. But for a third of Americans to be still, at two weeks out, undecided is stupid. This is your job, people. Wake up and watch the news. Find out. Be a truthseeker.

If you're voting, as you should, you ought to be informed. Pretend you had never seen pictures of these two men before. No black or white, no old or young. Just Obama/Biden vs. McCain/Palin. Important factors for me include character, policy ideas, trust, record, experiences. This is the perspective from which I choose to look at the race today. I'm a nurse. I've worked on a busy medical/surgical floor for 2 1/2 years as an RN. There are people who have been at Mayo a lot longer than me. There are equally as many who have not been. I'm no expert, but I think I can do my job pretty well. Here's the catch. Some have been medical secretaries for 15 years, some have been nurses for 30. Some nurses have been on the floor for less than 6 months. We work together to get the job done. We each bring our own personality, experience, and education to the table. Sure there's a nurse manager, there's a CEO, but would he or she have a job without the rest of us pulling our weight? Would there be a need for us if there was no patient in the bed? I'm getting at my point. Sometimes, patients prefer a nurse with tons of experience, 20 or 30 years, a room full of knowledge. These nurses tend to take a lot of time in the patient's room, caring for every aspect of the patient. They stay late to catch up on charting that wasn't completed until 8 hours after the fact. It's OK, it's just the way it has to be when you don't sit down all day. Some patients prefer a nurse with 2-5 years' experience. Usually moves quick, thinks a little more narrowly in the scheme of things, is task-oriented, good with technology and the things that make work work. They usually get charting done on time because they spend less time in a patient's room, feeling comfortable with the patient's status. Finally sometimes, and maybe not often, a patient prefers a new nurse. Usually very by-the-book, completes required tasks only, usually into talking, finding out about history, family, and all that. This nurse often gets roped into complex situations he/she hasn't had to deal with before and can lose his/her cool. The end of the shift almost never comes soon enough, and the new nurse gets easily overwhelmed at the significance of his or her newfound responsibilites. Now.... there are these nurses and everything in between, but you can be assured that these nurses never work alone. There is never one nurse alone on a floor probably anywhere because in life-saving or emergency situations, it is obvious and probably proven that one mind and two hands is not enough. In my mind, this can relate to the presidential election in some abstract way. Vote for who you prefer, who you'd like to spend a day with or drink a beer with or go to war with, and be assured that he never works alone. Go do it!