Decision Tuesday

Another Tuesday, another decision. Pundits say that by tonight, we could have nominees in both parties. If my political decision making device is accurate, however, I wouldn't be so sure. Past readers will recall the back story of this science/art experiment/installation. Basically, I've employed red, white and blue berries collected from various Western states to predict the outcomes of the presidential primaries. At various major elections, I present a snapshot of the electorate and offer a critical review of the candidates' positions. Since setting this up back in January, I have not uncapped the tubes. You can track the changes on this collection of posts. But for contrast's sake, just take a look at what politics does to the voters in just 3 short months:


This compares to January 8:

The entire collection of specimens has dulled, even accounting for the differences in lighting. (The artist apologizes for having a day job.) This clearly represents the dulling effect that the increasing rancor has on common citizens. Another striking finding is the bold assault of the red berries with mold. Earlier observations identified some of the mold as being blue, suggesting the possibility of formerly red voters crossing over. (If no one has coined the term, "Obama Republicans," let me take this opportunity to do so.) Today, however, the white snowberries show intense degradation. In fact, it appears as though small gremlins have spun cocoons in that sample. Snow. Fresh. Pure. These all could be represented by this specimen. These all are no longer present in the race. Biting attacks, political dirt and stale refrains now dominate. It is still unclear which berry correlates to which candidate. Perhaps the dear reader can offer a suitable explanation.

But what of my predictions? Or shall I say, what of the experiment's predictions. It is obvious to this observer that neither set of blue berries shows a dominating difference of decay. At the end of the night, neither will have sufficient reserve to claim victory. On the red side, however, both samples are bathed in mold. My guess is that a more intensive analysis than observation will be needed to correlate the presentation at hand with the apparent victory about to be handed to John McCain. And by 'more intensive analysis,' I am thinking 'taste.'