Near the end of October, just before the 2012 election, Foster’s Daily Democrat, in Dover, NH, ran a Lisa Benson editorial cartoon that depicted undecided voters as diners in a restaurant who were still pondering the menu while the staff put chairs on tables and otherwise prepared to close for the night.
I have written before on the plight of the undecided voter, but this cartoon was particularly disrespectful given that it was published 2 weeks before the election. I wrote this letter to Foster’s to express my displeasure. It was not published.
Update 15 August 2018: In doing a completely unrelated web-search recently, I discovered that this was published but, apparently, only online. Since I was looking for it in the physical paper, I missed that and misled everyone. Mea maxima culpa.
26 October 2012
For quite some time I have been enduring, without comment, the disdain, and downright vitriol, being heaped upon undecided voters. But your editorial cartoon today, depicting such voters as diners in a restaurant who have overstayed their welcome while the staff just wants to go home, was simply too far over the top to let it pass.
For the record: If I have to choose between shooting myself in the head or in the heart, can I be blamed for wanting to put off the pain for as long as possible?
But that aside, the election hasn’t been held yet! The fact that the 6-year-olds of the press can’t contain their curiosity doesn’t give them a right to my opinion or a right to force my choice!
If I was standing in the voting booth at 9 pm on election day holding up the counting, they would have a good reason to complain and I would deserve their scorn. But complaining now, in the middle of the evening rush, that I haven’t yet bothered to place my order is just childish petulance. Hey, you in the media! I don’t really care how tired you are. It’s not time to go home yet!
© Copyright 2012, Augustus P. Lowell