Come on, be honest! What are we really gawking at and gossiping about these days when it comes to the election? Is it the state of the economy? The state of the parties? MMP - should it go or should it stay? Uh-uh. It's United Future's Peter Dunne, or more particularly his hair which some unkindly compare to Rocky Racoon's. Unfair. When men of his age mostly sport desertified domes, Dunne's is positively verdant - even if the plumage is all grey. Only Winston comes close. ******** Is the US of A not just coming to Godzone, but already here? Following a dusty ute in Auckland the other day a reader spotted this sticker: 486,187 responsible Kiwis use guns lawfully - and vote. It's not the voting that's worrying. It's the fact - if correct - that so many Kiwis own guns. If that's the total for responsible gun-toting citizens, what’s the real figure? ******** Who will seniors vote for in the milestone US elections? When it comes to boomer women 63 years and over, the hot favourite is Obama (49 percent to 38 percent) according to a survey of 1400 women by EMILY's list. Yet socially this group is seen as conservative - for example one in five of those born in 1945 or earlier sees the increasing access to the Internet in U.S. homes as a negative; roughly the same proportion views increasing racial diversity as a negative. Forty-nine percent call the acceptance of homosexuals and same-sex marriage unfavourable. Younger babyboomers aged 44 to 62 years seem less conservative but give the challenger the slimmest margin over McCain: 49 to 43 percent. These women work and raise families, while older ones in this demographic are in retirement or approaching it. Born between 1946 and 1964, they have a positive take on America becoming more racially diverse, but not as much as younger women outside their cohort. They have a marginally negative view of the growing acceptance of homosexuals and same-sex unions, with 41 percent unfavorable and 34 percent favorable. And so to Godzone where there's a lot of gravitas about the election but also some fence-sitting when it comes to which way boomers might lean. One leading political scientist believes the race for the grey vote is wide open - like the race for the Treasury benches itself. Probably best then to take a betting man's perspective on the results - boomers and every other voting group included. An NZPA story ran on Stuff.co.nz on October 27 quoting Aussie bookmaker Centrebet as saying that Labour's odds to win the election had continued to firm while National's had lengthened slightly, mimicking poll trends. Just over a week earlier the betting agency had Labour's Helen Clark paying $5 to be Prime Minister after the election and National's John Key at just $1.15. But new odds released showed Labour had firmed to $3.85, while National had lengthened to $1.25… ******** Forget about the story, read these added responsibilities of frontline reporters: 'The training, led by a security expert from Hart Security, prepared 50 journalists and camera operators for reporting in war zones and other violent environments, covering bomb blasts and civil disorder, dealing with kidnapping and hostage situations, and administering improvised first-aid'. Source: International Federation of Journalists. ******** And for those who like a (homegrown) political pun...
When all is said and Dunne What's Key to all this fuss? Have we got things front Turia? Should you Hide J'eanette worth - risk going to Helen back? Either way… interest Peters out.
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