John McCain is about as fresh and invigorating as a Vera Lynn retrospective, without any of Ms. Lynn’s potential for nostalgic appeal. Also, his eroded reputation as a “Maverick” was never convincing to me in the least. You can’t be a senator as long as he has and be anything other than a Washington insider. Moreover, his choice of a running mate is absolutely mystifying. Palin has made a habit of saying things she has to explain or otherwise qualify soon thereafter. She is a clumsy, unseasoned political novice who transforms an uphill battle into Mission Impossible. It’s almost like he’s trying to lose.

By contrast, Barrack Obama is tailor-made for the current social climate. After eight years of blatant lying, fear-mongering, curtailing of civil liberties, and a complete lack of consideration for the actual concerns of the people, the eloquence expressed within his confident public persona and youthful mannerisms make it easy for an angry, cynical, and demoralized electorate to digest his bullshit. Obama affords an opportunity for the one thing America needs at this point in her history – a suspension of disbelief.

These things considered it doesn’t matter who wins. Politicians are like pro-wrestlers – they’re only adversaries when the cameras are rolling. At the end of the day, when the curtain falls, they’re all actors sharing the stage and the spotlight. In short, they’re co-workers who see past their occasional personal conflicts and ego-clashes to further the common good – which is, or course, their own advancement. This brings us to the other half of the equation – the American people.

I haven’t watched a single debate; I didn’t watch a single episode of Hardball w/Chris Matthews or Meet the Press (R.I.P. Mr. Russert). I don’t need to know what the issues are, because I know what the issue always is – money. The truth is, people only think about the war in Iraq when compelled to give an opinion on it, and the ongoing war in Afghanistan is our generation’s forgotten conflict. Unless you are a veteran, or have a friend or loved one serving in the military in either of these godforsaken regions, you seldom if ever think about it – despite all your guilt-ridden protests to the contrary. This is the reason why McCain’s “War-Hero” aesthetic should have been re-examined and largely cashiered in lieu of a more immediate, relevant and marketable election-year image.

Here’s the bottom line: We live in a completely transactional culture where everything has a finite value and intangibles are relegated to something akin to a childish ideal - a country divided along an innumerable set of sociological, economic, racial, religious and philosophical lines that simply categorizing us as “Haves and Have-nots” is insufficient and obsolete. A national body consisting of self-centered, myopic, media-saturated pseudo-humans who speak of compassion, honor, loyalty and family-values and live in a completely contradictory fashion. Have you ever noticed how politicians reference us not by our national identity, but the services we provide? We are consumers, constituents, voters or taxpayers – never citizens. When is the last time you heard a politician refer to us as citizens? We have absolutely no right to complain about this, because through their exploitation, deception and misdirection they are not betraying us – they are reflecting us.

I know what some of you people are thinking, so let me save you the wasted effort. I (and people like me) are not “Disaffected”, so do not label us as such because it is dismissive and condescending. We are UNAFFECTED, and there’s a big difference.