While visiting my friendly neighborhood optometrist today for my yearly eye exam, we struck up the water cooler conversation that I’m sure was taking place in every other office this morning; an analysis of last night’s presidential debate.

Immediately Dr. Heiden brought up a point that I hadn’t thought much about but that made complete sense to me.  Why the heck are there still so many undecided voters? These two candidates are so starkly different in policy plans, demeanor, personality and management style that you either like one and not the other.  There isn’t a thin line to walk here. You’re either for abortion rights or you’re against them.  You’re either for nationalized healthcare or you’re for a free-market privatized system.  You want the war to end or you think it would be, as Governor Palin says, a “white flag of surrender.”  There is a not a thin line to be drawn between the candidates differences in this year’s election.  Historically, during times of a more steady economy, no wars being fought and a general sense of overall stability, candidates from either party could more easily be mirrors of each other, aside from certain social issues that have become standard labels of each party.  It was harder to find policy differences because there had been no reason to make major policy changes.

Well if you haven’t figured it out by now, this is clearly not one of those years. It’s obvious that the country is standing at one of those pesky forks in the road that make voting so much more important (this is all stuff you’ve heard before).  The thing is, there are signs on both paths that clearly indicate where our potential leaders would like to take us.  So suck it up, educate yourself on the issues that are keeping you from choosing a candidate, and make a decision that you can live with two, three, ten years from now.

And please, PLEASE, don’t hitchhike away from the fork with a wandering lonely traveler by choosing a third-party candidate that, sadly so, will not be leading the country in January.