Colorado Voters Feel like Joe the Plumber -- No Privacy

Denver -- I'm the next Joe the Plumber. My privacy has taken a back seat to national politics, and it seems like it all is hinging on me sometimes.

There's a car parked outside my house every day. When I walk down the street, I glance back and see people behind me. Even on the bus, people are watching me. And then the phone rings.

Sometimes they're obvious, using the sinister 303-999-xxxx number. Sometimes it's out of state, or even a neighbor calling. Often it's several times a day. I'm letting everything go to voicemail until November 4. They'll do anything to get to me, though.

I am the swing state voter.

Every week, they don't just send "their people." They come and visit my town in person. The Other Side comes too, but they came first, just down the street from me. I went, walked over and stood in line in January. I saw Him, even wrote an article about my impressions, which were good. When I went, they asked for my name. In fact, they made us all give our names, and gave us "the mark" to show we had. That's when all the calls, emails and postcards started,

Now, I've gotten an email - from the future, I suppose, or some other strange technology. It's a video, like in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," showing a future without Obama as President, and I'm to blame. "Dave Maddox" they said, calling me by name on television, is the man who failed.

I was the swing state voter who didn't show up, they said. The news reports showed graffiti mentioning me by name, elderly reviling me, foul language used about me. George W. Bush congratulated me, Bill O'Reilly welcomed me to the team, but the everyday people of America knew my name and hated it.

I am the swing state voter. The weight of the world is on my shoulders.

Though this story, and even the fascinating customized video are real (though some of the stalking might be my imagination), life in a swing or battleground state is many different things, not just sinister. Obama's crowd is pulling out all the stops and using some creative new techniques to get out the vote for their man, but other candidates are putting in the effort as well. McCain will be here again on Friday, the Palins just left, and also Ralph Nader is visiting this week, leaving for a "real" presidential debate, which I wish were attended by all the candidates, or at least open to them.

The sledgehammer phone/email/postcard/TV battle/arena and fence-off-third-parties approach to politics has been a little tiresome, but since we really have only two choices as far as outcome is concerned (call me a cynic, Ralph, I know - in fact, Colorado has 16 presidential candidates! Who knew?) it has been interesting and not as tiresome as it sounds to have so many opportunities to see the candidates in person.

It's quite different than the sound bites and "gotcha" clips on the news and YouTube. In fact, I have found the candidates' human side very interesting. John McCain took a while to warm up at his Town Hall here, but then spoke eloquently at times. I nearly shook Bill Clinton's hand, but before he got to me some young woman distracted him for a while and wrote something on a piece of paper.

Yes, they're all quite human.

I'll miss the circus when it leaves town, and I hope our area -- and the country -- benefits from the role we play as a swing or battleground state. Speaking of battles, though, what I won't miss is the non-stop political advertising on TV, repeated into the late night so there's no escape. It has been degrading, horribly misleading, and, of course, besides the reports of a mainstream media that makes no secret of their own preferences it's all many people have.

So welcome to swing state Colorado, John, Barack, Ralph and others. Welcome to politics in person. Or, should I say, welcome back yet again.

(To check out the amazing Moveon.org personal blame video generator, use this link)