[speaker001:] okay do you vote regular
[speaker002:] yeah I do I try and vote in every single election
[speaker001:] every one
[speaker002:] but uh that's just since in the past say about six years before that I really didn't pay any attention at all
[speaker001:] well see that's me I've never paid any attention to voting
[speaker002:] oh you haven't
[speaker001:] hum-um
[speaker002:] yeah I didn't use to but now I really because I get so angry about what goes on and then I feel like I can't really complain too much unless
[speaker001:] unless you have something to do with it right
[speaker002:] yeah but the problem is that I am very liberal politically and so I hardly ever have anybody that wins that I vote for
[speaker001:] oh liberal by what do you mean by liberal um
[speaker002:] liberal politically I'm you know like pretty left wing Democrat Democrat so
[speaker001:] well see I don't know anything about politics
[speaker002:] oh you don't
[speaker001:] uh what's the main what's the main difference between Republicans and Democrats
[speaker002:] okay well there's a lot of them um depends on what issue you're talking about but Democrats are on a lot of issues are more liberal than Republicans and well it used to be it's kind of hard to say now especially after Desert Storm but um I think back in the eighties times when uh my political opinions were being formed like in Vietnam during the Vietnam war and stuff
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] the Republicans were more you know what they called Hawks which is more like aggressive in war and more pro-war and pro-aggression and um
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] the Democrats were the doves they were more for peace and I'm not sure how much that holds true anymore I think you know the issues are
[speaker001:] okay and you vote for the Democrats or
[speaker002:] yeah yeah and Democrats usually are supportive more supportive of public assistance programs and and programs to
[speaker001:] usually okay uh-huh
[speaker002:] um the the big Republican thing is that they don't they vote for less government they want less government involvement in society and so they're more less apt to vote in you know more aid to people or more
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] more uh they're less apt to vote in programs that involve the government running things
[speaker001:] huh
[speaker002:] so so have you ever voted at all
[speaker001:] okay no I never have
[speaker002:] you haven't
[speaker001:] hum-um
[speaker002:] how old are you
[speaker001:] I'm twenty six
[speaker002:] oh gosh
[speaker001:] I know I should I
[speaker002:] well
[speaker001:] well I don't know much that much about it I don't keep up on it and I don't feel like I have
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] have enough knowledge on it to even you know to pick the right person
[speaker002:] yep yeah well
[speaker001:] so that's what they need well
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] it uh they said something to improve voting
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] if they could make it more oh easier to find out you know what's going on do you know what I mean
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] like uh like to me I don't I didn't know what would have been wrong with I can't even remember who ran for president against Bush I think it was uh that woman wasn't it a woman
[speaker002:] Dukakis no it was Dukakis
[speaker001:] Dukakis
[speaker002:] from Massachusetts
[speaker001:] okay didn't he have a woman or wasn't or was that Reagan there was a woman that was running for vice president for a while Ferraro
[speaker002:] oh yeah that was yeah Ferraro that was a while ago that was a couple elections ago yeah
[speaker001:] okay
[speaker002:] yeah that's okay
[speaker001:] well well that's what I mean like I didn't know what the difference between Dukakis and Bush was
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] you know I didn't know anything about Bush or Dukakis
[speaker002:] so what do you think about uh what do you think about what you see on TV about them like in the news or on the ads do you kind of just
[speaker001:] okay I don't remember anything about Dukakis
[speaker002:] you don't
[speaker001:] but well they're all saying that they're going to do you know whatever is best for their campaign anyway
[speaker002:] uh-huh uh-huh
[speaker001:] that's what I mean if they had some kind of public programs where you can just go out and I don't know like you know in school they didn't teach you about Democrats uh the government not really
[speaker002:] um-hum right you didn't get any government classes
[speaker001:] hum-um
[speaker002:] yeah it's really hard too because before they used to have um a lot of it seems like the stuff that they put out now it I mean I doesn't just seem like it I know for a fact that the any kind of stuff that if you wrote and asked for material well what do you believe in what do you believe in they don't take any stands on anything they kind of say well what do you want me to believe
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] or they word it so that it's really hard to tell where they're standing on certain issues
[speaker001:] well I'm not sure they're yeah I know how they do it it like it with the abortion issues and stuff
[speaker002:] um-hum um-hum yeah they have to kind of take a stand on some things like abortion and
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] things like that so that's kind of how I judge there's a few things where they have to say yes or no like abortion or gun control or let me see I try to look at
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] what if some of the newspaper articles or the I don't trust TV as much but newspaper articles can show whether how they voted in the past
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and but you get you know it all depends again on whose writing it and who they're for because they can slant that too
[speaker001:] right and like I said most of the politicians the politicians I'm the also the politicians put out what makes them look good anyway
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah yeah
[speaker001:] and everybody's got you know stuff they don't want known
[speaker002:] right everybody's got a secret
[speaker001:] well anyway I'm sorry I didn't I didn't have
[speaker002:] so
[speaker001:] much knowledge I don't even remember this being on there
[speaker002:] well that's okay do you think do you think um I mean what would it take like that this is really good actually that for to talk to somebody who hasn't voted I mean what kind of how would it how what kind of stuff would they would you like them to do so that that you would know more about it like send stuff in the mail or have it at the library or
[speaker001:] incentive you I guess that would be good now I'm sure they've got it at the library
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] you know
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] I mean if I get to the library I've got two babies so I don't
[speaker002:] oh do you yeah that'll tie you down a little bit
[speaker001:] yeah but I I don't know
[speaker002:] or do you just not do you feel like it's not really going to make that much difference if you don't vote or
[speaker001:] oh I know if enough people think like that it you know would make a difference if people stopped thinking like that
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] um well a lot of people they'll vote the way their family votes you know if since you're what Democrat
[speaker002:] uh-huh um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] then then like your kids or whatever will follow you and just vote Democrat right
[speaker002:] um-hum well not in my family we're kind of really independent
[speaker001:] I mean no all split
[speaker002:] but a lot of families do that I know a lot of wives feel like they have to vote the way that their husbands vote
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] and that kind of keeps from getting a lot of issues resolved golly
[speaker001:] I lie hm
[speaker002:] but well
[speaker001:] I don't know if I did understand politics I probably would vote more but like I said if I voted for Bush or like when uh Gary
[speaker002:] um-hum Hart
[speaker001:] Hart was running
[speaker002:] uh-huh
[speaker001:] a lot of women would have voted for him just because he was nicer looking not that I think he was good looking but
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] he was young
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and then I didn't think that was right because he may have been a good president or whatever
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] but because it was he had an affair
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and it just threw him out of the whole running
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] and a lot of people go by their uh personal life when they vote
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] and which I guess if you got turmoil in your personal life you're going to let it come into work but
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] I'm sure there's a lot of people that have had
[speaker002:] I think everybody does it just depends on how well you can hide it
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] you know and I that's very true I I think that doesn't really have that much to do with um unless they've done something really horrible you know or something real abnormal
[speaker001:] well criminal or something like that's different but
[speaker002:] yeah right but otherwise
[speaker001:] if him and his wife weren't getting along I mean
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] what is what effect does that have on him running for president do you know what I mean
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] it's all so secretive see we really don't see the
[speaker002:] that's right
[speaker001:] true person anyway
[speaker002:] I think that's that's having a big effect on how poorly that the country's being run is that um the the election the people that want to get elected are turning it into a popularity contest by advertising the things that you know that really don't have anything to do with how well they do the job but see they're trying to find an excuse not to deal with what
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] you know the issues that people really want to know about because on those issues you have to say yes or no and if they don't say yes or no then maybe somebody'll vote for them that wouldn't have if they had come down on the wrong side do you know what I'm saying so they just try and make it a personal thing I mean if you remember
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] any of the TV commercials from the last presidential campaign they all had uh pictures of Bush with his grandchildren walking around with his grandchildren and even from Reagan it was all just like looks like a McDonald's commercial you know
[speaker001:] uh-huh well what did you think of Reagan as a president
[speaker002:] that's about what it looked like I just thought he was really inept I don't think he did anything at all he they just kind of sat him up there like a puppet and the people that were
[speaker001:] do you think he won from Carter because of the um the hostages that were held at that time
[speaker002:] well I think that was part of it I think there's a lot of the the economic problems that the country was having at the time and the the recession and stuff people just had a picture of Carter as not being real capable
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] but he actually all right this I thought he was great
[speaker001:] I thought Carter was good too and that was yeah
[speaker002:] did you I always liked him I thought he was great at the time and I I just couldn't get over the fact that Reagan beat him I you know that I just couldn't believe that he got voted out
[speaker001:] but I think I wasn't well let's see that's been about ten years ago right
[speaker002:] um-hum yeah
[speaker001:] okay so I was only fifteen or sixteen but I remember Carter and I liked him yeah
[speaker002:] yeah you did have you heard stuff about him lately do you know what he's doing
[speaker001:] no I sure don't
[speaker002:] well he is just he is really active still politically he's been overseas you remember when he was in office he did a lot of stuff for the Middle East for people