Porn!

Last week, I had occasion to take the metro to participate in a focus group about politics...a bit more on that later. I got on the train around 5:30 and it was crowded with a mix of confused tourists and annoyed workers. Some folks were going home, others to the airport and probably others, like me, were on their way to an appointment, either for business or pleasure.

I stood for most of the trip and moved to the middle of the car as soon as I had the opportunity. In my middle spot, I could read over the shoulders of at least four different people. Most were reading books or magazines, one read the newspaper, and one middle-aged man was reading an unbound document that looked like it might be a draft report. He was tall and holding the document right in front of his face, not down on his lap, so I had a clear view of it even though I was not standing directly behind him. In fact, the document was tilted slightly in the direction of his young, attractive, female seatmate.

The man himself was unremarkable. Your typical federal worker-- meaning button down shirt, tie, no jacket, lanyard with ID around his neck. He was a little rumpled but it was a long, hot Thursday, so everyone looked a little sweaty and untucked. As I glanced around the car, my eyes rested on his document and I read a few lines.

It sure wasn't the kind of report we get in my office.

After I read the first line, I looked around to see if anyone else had caught a glimpse of what was on the page. No one met my eyes or looked in his direction. Even his seatmate looked unperturbed and totally absorbed in her paperback book.

Was I crazy? I read another line.

Nope. Not crazy.

I was reading porn. Dirty, filthy…did you see the movie The Aristocrats ? Well, it was kind of like that, but no incest so far as I could tell.

I stopped reading. Did he know how easy it was for everyone in his near vicinity to see what he was reading? Had he no shame? What about that young woman sitting next to him? It was beyond rude. It was disturbing.

It occurred to me that he wanted the woman sitting next to him to read. Maybe this was how he got his kicks. However, he never glanced at her, or me, for that matter. So strange.

We actually got off the train at the same stop. I gave him another close look but there was nothing remarkable or disturbing in his appearance. I shook my head and wondered what he was thinking. I probably don't want to know.

---

At the focus group, something possibly even stranger occurred

In the opening round of questions we were asked if we'd picked a candidate for the 2008 elections. Several people raised their hands and explained who they were supporting and why. Some were for Hillary Clinton, one for John Edwards and one for Barak Obama. On the Republican side folks chose Mitt Romney, John McCain and, this is where it gets shocking, TWO people picked Fred Thompson . TWO. I thought that it wasn't possible to meet otherwise normal seeming people who would support Thompson. The best part is the woman who supported him because he was "an outsider" and not involved in all that "Washington muck." Um, hello, one-term Senator! Insider! Or maybe he's a Hollywood insider and that's ok? Or maybe they just like his Tennessee accent--I agree that it's appealing (seriously), but it's hardly a political platform.

Our group included the usual suspects who wanted programs without funding and seemed to think that the government was some alien entity over which they had no control. Fine, I've heard all that before. But Fred Thompson for president? That was a head scratcher.

While I'm sure all vote Democratic in the next election, I have a hard time picking between Clinton, Edwards and Obama. None of them have as much legislative/ government/administrative experience as I'd like. As little as I like them, Gore and Kerry are better in that respect. Policywise, it's a wash. They'll be very similar on social issues. It comes down to who will get us of Iraq fastest and with the least bad consequences and whose negotiation/communication style will be more effective in pressing a progressive agenda, including universal healthcare. I can’t imagine that what they say on the campaign trail will make that clearer, but anything is possible.

Grateful for: freedom of speech.