Election Eve Notes from a Swing State

I spent this election evening at a popular rock music venue in this critical swing-state city. There were three popular post-punk band on the docket, and clearly most of the 20-year-old crowd was there to see the national headline act. The first surprise was that at 30-something I wasn't the oldest person there, although I was in the minority in that my shirt was not skin-tight and I wasn't showing butt crack above my trousers.

(On a related note, who convinced the teenage girls of America that lowrider pants that expose a chubby belly and hip rolls is a good look?)

But the bigger surprise came during the intermission between bands. The sold-out crowd of 2,000 or so started holding up four fingers and shouting "Four more years! Four more years!" Was I hearing this right? A group of sweaty college girls and guys in a mosh pit was pumped to vote for Bush?

After all of the analysis of this critical swing state, has the media missed something? Most of the comments I overheard from guys with tattoed arms and 28 body piercing was something like "Kerry's a doink." Could Kerry's failure to connect with the people be this strong?

I'm starting to think that voter turnout will be huge tomorrow in this state. I will let you know which way I vote and why.