Question of the Day - Do You Care About the Upcoming Election?

This election is the most important one of our lifetimes! That’s what we hear, anyway—but we’ve heard that before. Many, many times, actually. And you could make an argument that with the growing partisanship in Congress and the requirement to get 60 votes in the Senate to pass anything, whoever becomes the most powerful person in the world won’t have the ability to actually pass many laws—so why is this so important, again? Why should we care about the election? We asked some people on the street how they felt less than 90 days before the most important election of our lives happens again.

VICE: Do you care about the upcoming elections? 
Sammy: I care, but I don’t get to vote. I care because I don’t want Mitt Romney to win.

Why not?
I feel like Obama didn’t really get a chance to fix what was done before him. The economy isn’t really shot because of him; it’s shot because of the wars that Bush started. He could start fixing it if he had more time, but you know four years isn’t enough to fix eight years of damage.

John: Of course I care. I’m an American, aren’t I?

I don’t know. Are you?
Yeah.

Some people would argue that the presidential elections don’t matter due to gridlock.
He runs the whole country, doesn’t he? Now it’s about Medicare and Medicaid and people out of work and stuff, but it’ll get better. I think Obama will win a second term.

Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
I hope a good thing; it can’t get any worse.

Hope you’re right.

Arnie: There’s no choice.

What do you mean?
The two clowns who are running are kind of jokes. Basically, one’s a Nazi who wants to go back to the Stone Age. The other one is doing business as usual: Whatever the rich and big businesses want him to do, he does. Everyone is in someone’s pocket now.

Well, change takes time, right?
What, like 40 years? The thing is, we’re going back to the 30s and 40s: Women’s rights don’t exist anymore. You don’t have a voice, and your body belongs to the system.

Lou: I stopped voting after they killed Kennedy. I don’t believe in politics. He was the only president who really tried to do anything. The rest of them are just symbols. They’re not even real people. Kennedy was a real person—and they murdered him. They murdered all the real people out there. For me, it’s all fake.

What about Congress?
They’re all fake. When I was like 11 years old, there were the McCarthy laws and people were actually taking that bullcrap seriously. It’s such a mockery of the times and ethics. It’s almost as if people want to believe in it, because it fills up their time and amuses them. The only thing that politics does is set a certain mood: When the president changes, the country gets into a different mood. Even that though, it’s all prearranged.

Lenny: I do care.

Are you voting?
Yeah. I guess you have to care. It affects everybody. That’s why they have the elections.

Many people believe that politics are just a dirty game.
That’s kinda weird. Why would anyone think that? It’s kind of cynical. I mean yeah, there are a lot of games being played and maybe they don’t make the best decisions based on what the people actually need. They’re trying to do their jobs.

Mike: Of course I care. Of course people care.

Are you voting?
Yes, but I’m not gonna tell you who I’m voting for.

That’s fine, but why is it important?
Every election is important. It’s to make sure that we get the people what we want.

Some people don’t believe in politics.
I don’t really either.

So why are you voting?
I don’t really know… You gotta vote. It’s what we do every year.

Yes, presidential elections, a great yearly tradition.

Edmond: I don’t care. The things are the way things are. It’ll probably get worse.

Do you not think one of the candidates is a better option?
Obama’s OK. We don’t know what to expect, though. Everything’s going to change if Obama doesn’t win. I’m not into the voting and all that.

Do you not believe in politics?
I do, but I don’t vote. My vote is not going to make a difference. I’ve never voted in my life and I’m not willing to change that.

If you want Obama for a second term, why not vote for him?
I never vote, so my vote doesn’t make a difference. I don’t care who wins, as long as I have a job and a home. Everything will be fine, no matter who wins. We’ll be fine.

Previously - Should We Be Allowed to See Prince Harry’s Penis?