I’m sure that somewhere — perhaps online — a person could bet on who John McCain’s presidential running mate is going to be. Just out of pure hedonism, I think I’d bet, but I’m not 100% sure who I’d bet on. I’m a logical thinker that likes to play the logic game when it comes to predicting who is going to be picked to be McCain’s running mate. It’s widely regarded that in no election in at least thelast 100 years has been swayed by a VP pick. While this may or may not be true, I’ve yet to hear any reporter on any network address the changes that have occurred over the past 10-15 years.

I’m 28; on the young sidein the spectrum of registered voters. Many people my age refuse to dive head first into the soap opera that is American politics and I can’t say that I blame them. I mean, it’s politics. Who has time to figure out who’s lying and who’s not? The Lakers are playing the Celtics. Brittney Spears shaved her head. Lindsey Lohan is dating another chick. Micheal Phelps is going for 8 gold medals. Football season is starting. Somehow, these things matter more than universal health care. They matter more than the privatization of social security. They matter more than the war in Iraq. And so long as my generation is behind a computer screen and not behind the wheel of a car, they matter more than the price of gas. Out of sight, out of mind — and that “out-of-sight-out-of-mind” thing all depends on whatshow we’re watching. DNC coverage or Gossip Girl? Life’s choices are so hard.

My generation is the first generation to have grown up on the internet. My generation is the first to really — and I mean really – embrace “info-tainment” (high-five to John Stewart and Steven Colbert). In junior high and high school, most kids voted for the ASB president based soley on how hot the girl was, or how many touchdowns the guy scored. It was a popularity contest in the truest sense of the phrase. My generation is the first to fail to grow out of this mentality. In a sweeping generalization, we will vote for the candidatethat appeals best to our sense of entertainment; our sense of sarcasm; our sense of what really matters. And honestly, who can define what really matters to a generation that doesn’t care about much? It’s a crap shoot at best.

The scary part is, Diddy says “Vote or Die”; John Stewart talks about “Indecision 2008″. I’m note sure what that means, but what I do know is that a certain percentage of my generation will beinfluenced by the “MTV Effect” as I call it. They will be persuaded to vote but will have no basis for their vote other than what they saw on TV. My pessimistic point of view and my very real life experiences growing up in the above stated generation leads me to believe that close to 0% of them will actually point their web browsers in the direction of the issues. Almost none of them will know the backgrounds of the candidates, what they stand for, and what they promise to do for America. Almost none of them will have investigated the candidates themselves. Almost none of them will use critical thinking and form their own opinion of the two choices we have for commander-in-chief. Oh, man, is that depressing! I’m surrounded by sheep.

Not to fear, though (well, maybe). Above I mentioned John Stewart and Steven Colbert. A rumor I heard long ago in college suggested that thevast majority of college students (and young adults in general) got their news from The Daily Show. There’s two ways to look at this. 1) It’s sad that college students don’t watch CSPAN or CNN or Fox News to understand the world around them, or 2) at least they’re being entertained with/by the news. Until The Daily Show, my generation didn’t really care about their community, not to mention the growing conflict between Russia and Georgia. Let’s be honest. Until John Stewart, most college kids would havebeen lucky to knowGeorgia was a state, let alone a whole ‘nother country in Europe.

But info-tainment has it’s place in American Pop Culture. It isn’t an inherently bad thing. The inherently bad thing is that Generation X and Generation Y don’t care about anything that doesn’t directly relate to them. And that’s just unfortunate. The 2008 election is historical in the sense that it’s the first time a black man has had the backing of a major political party when just several decades ago, black people were forced to sitin the back of buses and drink from different water fountains. It’s historical in the sense that this is the closest a woman hasever come to having the backing of a major political party. These things are progressive, but they have little to do with American policy. True they’re important in the grand scheme of American progression and our collective egos, but c’mon. Russia –a nd the rest of the world for that matter — could care less. The most importantthing here should always be a candidate’sposition on the most important issues of the time asthey relate to America –regardless of race, gender, sexual preference, etc. And right now, those issues are the war in Iraq, the national economy, health care, social security, and the energy crisis. These issues affect all Americans, and a candidate that addresses these universal issues should lead us into the coming years. To hell with popularity and mass appeal. I’m voting for the man with answers to a better tomorrow, propaganda and BS aside.

And FYI, I think McCain will pick Mitt Romney as his VP. Pawlenty would be convenient since he’s from Minnesota and the RNC is in Minnesota,and Lieberman would bring in the conservative Democrat and the Independent vote, but I don’t think ol’ Johnny’s that kind of guy. Since he’s a liberal Republican by reputation and a self-proclaimed “maverick,” my money’s on Mitt. I’ve been wrong more times than I’ve been right, but at least I have an educated opinion.