older chests reveal themselves

Older chests reveal themselves
Like a crack in a wall
Starting small, and grow in time
And we always seem to need the help
Of someone else
To mend that shelf
Too many books
Read me your favourite line

-Damien Rice, Older Chests

Today I found an Op-Ed by my favorite columnist, Gail Collins. In Three Guys And A Table, Collins discussed the last presidential debate, and using her amazing wit and sarcasm, she managed to compare John McCain and Barack Obama to campers, which is something she could only do.

One of the best parts about Collins' editorials is that they all have a theme that is woven throughout from the beginning to the end. In this editorial, that theme is camp. She starts off the article with, "Couldn’t help feeling nostalgic Wednesday night. It was a little like the last bonfire at summer camp." With that statement, Collins' wove the idea of camp into every point that she said, making for a more enjoyable read on a serious topic. She continues to describe the candidates as the kids that you meet at summer camp, Obama being "the coolest, most popular camper. You can’t wait to see him again after school starts. Then you discover that back in real life, he’s founder of the Model Boat Society and the president of the Safety Club" and McCain is "like the head counselor who led all the hikes and who you wished was your older brother. Until you realized that he spent the cold weather hanging out at a biker bar and watching reruns of 'Dog the Bounty Hunter.'". Since I am leaning towards McCain in the presidential election, the Obama analogy really struck me as hilarious, because I feel like Obama has amazing ideas, but he doesn't really know how to follow through with them, so he is the guy who everyone loves, but then they find out that in reality, he's kind of a geek. I find the McCain analogy full of irony, because it would truly be hilarious if you saw him in a biker bar watching "Dog the Bounty Hunter", but it would be fitting because McCain has a tougher side to his personality.

What started out as an editorial about the debate ended as one on the end of the presidential race when Collins' started talking about the undecided voters. She says how both of the canditates have moved away from the mainstream voters that are clear on who they are voting for, to the "handful of people in Ohio who have managed to avoid noticing that Obama and McCain disagree on virtually every important issue facing the nation and continue to insist that they are torn between them". I like how Collins' tied the targeted audience so beautifully into the witty banter about the debate because she was right. Those few voters who really don't know who they are voting for are now crucial to both of their campaigns, and those people are now making the two candidates more distinct than ever with their views on important issues.