I’m sure this has been the case for most, if not all, elections ever since we as a people have made choices about who will represent us. It just seems to me that the process is a bit more obvious this year than it has been in the past.

To a certain extent every vote is a mix of thoughts that can be described as either being “for” your candidate and their positions, or as being against the opposing candidate and the positions they champion. Think of it like a sliding scale:

At the left side of the slide you are totally behind the candidate you’ve chosen to support. You agree with the ideas they propose. You align yourself fully with their platform, their vision, and their character.

At the other side of the scale you are looking at, and basing your decision on, the opponent. It is a vote against one candidate and their ideals much more than a vote for the other person in the race. You reject the ideas they propose. You question their character and their direction.

Of course most voting decisions are made somewhere in the middle of this process. It is a mix of support on the one hand and a rejection on the other. I would think that very few candidates command a following that is totally toward one extreme or the other.

As Glenn Beck might say, “I’m not a political scientist, but I am a thinker.” And one thing that occurs to me is that closer one candidate can be to the left end of the chart the better off they will be in terms of energizing their support, raising needed funds, and getting their message out. It is only as you near the extreme right side of the process that those things would start to reappear.

A candidate slogged down in the middle of the scale would, I believe, have a difficult time raising money, gathering supporters, and trumpeting their ideas.

Let’s not forget that there are two people running. What you feel for “your” candidate may not be a balanced opposite of how you feel about the opponent. You could, for example, have mixed thoughts about the degree to which you are behind the person you are supporting, but seriously oppose the other candidate. Or perhaps you support your candidate strongly and have mixed feelings regarding the opposition.

Say I had placed a numerical scale from 0-11 underneath the chart. We’ll eliminate 0 and 11 as being unrealistically extreme. What are your thoughts on the remaining 1-10? For myself, I can tell you that I am about a 4 on John McCain and a 10 on Barack Obama.

I’d like to hear your thoughts in the comments. I’ve also created a poll (in the sidebar to the right) that will allow you to pick two numbers, one for each candidate.

The floor is open for your discussion.

UPDATE: For some reason, that I don’t have time to diagnose and fix right now, the poll is only allowing one answer.