I’ve been enrolled in this class since I was 18, and I’ve been a good student, I swear. But then there was this pop quiz recall thing a few months back that threw me off. I knew this one was coming, what with the commercials reminding me. But I have been busy with my other schoolwork …
I might as well admit it: I’m going to totally fail the primary.
Yes, tomorrow is “Super Tuesday,” the day on which 10 states (including my home state, California) hold primary elections. Sure, I know what you might be saying. It’s an optional exam - skip it. The problem with that is I’ve never been one to turn down a scholastic challenge.
So, boy, am I cramming. I’m such a bad student! I haven’t even opened the textbook, my Sample Official Ballot that came in the mail over a month ago.
I’m almost tempted to lean over and sneak a peek at the ballot of the person at the rickety voting booth next to me. “Pssst … what’d you get on Prop. 57 and 58?”
I’m scrambling around the Internet, scouring newspaper columns, reading voter association sites and Googling names of judicial candidates in some harried attempt to find the “right” answer to punch out on the ballot - that glorified Scantron I will receive tomorrow at my polling place.
But when it comes to politics, I’m discovering that there are no right or wrong answers.
This is making it extremely difficult to study.
One candidate has a nice bio, good policies and is opposed to education cuts. And the opponent, well, she seems good too. Bio, policies, education, all practically the same. Is this a trick question?
Other questions seem easier, like approving a bond measure for school renovations (Prop. 55). But if it is approved, will it
a) really make a difference
b) put the state into more debt
or
c) help out schools in dire need of the repairs.
Two sides on a proposition are screaming from both sides of the political spectrum at someone who’s only here for a grade. Both present logical arguments. Both have high-ranking endorsers. What’s the answer?
Eh, I’ll pass it and come back to it.
Maybe it’s because it’s a primary and you vote with party. Maybe it’s because I have a general lack of faith in the voting populace of my state since we elected the most popular kid in school to be our governor. But sometimes I wonder if any one vote is better than another. Maybe all the answers are wrong.
Maybe that’s why some people skip the test: they know we’re going to fail the course anyway.
Well, you can always make up points on the extra credit question: can you pick a democratic nominee who will beat Bush in November?