If you’re reading this at any time after November 4, then things will have been too late. You’ve already selected a candidate, swung by the voting booths, (or not) and cast your vote.

But if, by some time-traveling miracle, you get to read this before then, well, there’s hope that you’d make the right choice. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s “Blink,” though we tell ourselves deep inside that we are good, unbiased, not-judge-people-by-looks kind of people, looks still factor in big, regardless of platform. We tend to look at the beautiful people and subconsciously think that they’re the smartest, can-do-no-wrong people.

Should this be true, then hopefully the following images won’t jar your decision for the elections. I mean, Halloween costume sales have foretold Presidential elections before in this country (BTW, Obama masks outsold McCain ones, 53-47) so why won’t a few pictures influence your choice?

Angry McCain

These first surfaced earlier this year, also known as “Furious McCain” which perfectly shows the kind of temper fits he goes into. Will we get to see that face in the White House?

Smoking Obama

So Barack Obama used to smoke — at least he quit. We’ve typified Presidents to be pristine to the public, more human when out of view, so does having enough will to quit smoking will his way to the White House?

Palin Winking

Why is Sarah Palin winking at me? When viewed on television, she kinda makes you feel like she’s talking to you secretly, jumpstarting that part in a boy’s mind that makes you think she’ll be right for ANYTHING. Is it right? Or is it sly?

Superman Backs Barack Obama

Not only does this appeal to comic book geeks, it also hits you with a mental barrage of comparison. When looking at it, you can’t help but compare Obama to Superman. (He’s been compared to the messiah, after all) Is it a clever attempt of getting people to associate the qualities of Superman (truth, justice, American way) with Obama?

Zombie McCain

This has to be the most famous image of the 2008 Elections — plus, it’s also been my most frequently attached image in emails I send out to friends, even if my mail doesn’t have anything to do with the elections. Zombies in politics?! They should win automatically, right? Kinda makes you think what will happen, should McCain meet up with leaders of the world and slip accidentally — will he eat their brains?

Let’s not make the Warren Harding error again. Let’s vote for who we think is best fit for the job, then they can make faces! Discuss this and other interesting topics over @ The Jabber.

The week’s funny pages — they say art imitates real life, and I say that’s a major cliché — so let’s look at the funny pages about the politicians.  I’ve already highlighted the strong political statements on bumper stickers — now let’s see what the cartoonists are saying!

I mean, with all that’s going on in real world politics, the cartoonists won’t ever have to run out of material.  The funny thing is, most of the comics are true; politics is absurd.

When your campaign’s clogged … who ya gonna call? – Who the heck is Joe the plumber?  If you’ve been watching ANY of the major news networks, or have been attending Republican rallies, then you’d know exactly who he is.  As a matter of fact, he’s become a staple in all of Ms. Palin’s speeches.  Way to divert attention!  Now if only he could solve the clogged-up media…

With all these truths, who needs issues? -  Honestly, McCain seems intent on destroying his opponent by any means necessary — even if it means using the facts against him.  So he knows a supposed terrorist … now how is that  being ‘Country first’ again?

I shrug. – Obama’s been known to be aloof against all of the issues piling up on him.  Have you heard him address the allegations personally?  I think not.  If you were to give someone a gift, and that person refuses, to whom does the gift belong to?  Plus, if you were to give insults to someone and that person refuses, to whom does the insults belong?

Heightened reality – As far as we know, this is how McCain perceives Barack Obama — which is basically urging his supporters to quake in their boots and vote for him, because he’s not ‘that one.’

You betcha! – Can’t have one of these lists and not have Palin on it.  Sarah Palin, did bring up Obama’s previous association with one Mr. Ayers.  That he was “palling around with terrorists.”  Such strong words … and she stands by it.  I wonder what McCain is thinking about her now.  Have you noticed that since then she hasn’t had any more prominent statements to release?  Well, save for that appearance on SNL where she was bobbing her head as Amy Poehler rapped about the Republican party.  Plus, she was wearing nice boots that time.  Rawr.

Do you agree with these comic depictions of the candidates?  Are they told in heightened reality, or are they saying it as it is?  Discuss it over @ The Jabber.

Looking at the elections in general, what do you see?  I don’t know about you, but it sorta reminds me of high school.

In those rare times that I do think back, (its best not to dwell) it becomes this memory that a majority of your friends think fondly of, then you remember the stereotypes, and you ask yourself, “what was so great about high school then?”

Popularity was a rare and scarce commodity — you could have easily been the smartest person in school, but it wasn’t valued as highly as status, good looks or athletic ability.

Here are what the candidates remind me of:

Barack Obama as the geek – The one who was into computers.  Who knew that one day, Facebook would take over social life management?  He might’ve blurted out a few sentences which only affirmed his stereotype.  Of course no one at the time even conceived that he’d be doing BIG things while the prom queens who weren’t able to step out of that image got the smaller jobs, the ones where looks weren’t as gleaming a qualification as book smarts.  Unless of course they join pageants or modeling gigs.

Sarah Palin as the popular girl– In high school, being popular was better than being smart.  Which is a generalization, of course, I can’t speak for this current generation, but that’s how it was in my day.  The popular girls had images to maintain, so they can’t not be hanging out with high school royalty, plus, most of them were bullies.  I asked, back then, “how could they be so beautiful and be so ugly on the inside?”  Of course, some of them are now moms.  Some got over it.  Some, like Palin, became success stories.  Keen instinct on where to look, and how to manipulate things into what they want.

John McCain as the jock – Obviously.  This guy ran on testosterone!  Wait, no, TESTOSTERONE!  Doing without thinking.  Promising something, and then suddenly remembering that he had a date, or a game to go to, so he does something else.

Joe Biden as the indie kid – He wasn’t ‘cool’-cool, but he didn’t care what anybody thought of him, which makes him ‘cool.’  Not that he was trying to be.  (I’m obviously not well-versed enough in Biden’s stories to make clever satire, so there.)

I mean, isn’t the 2008 elections a popularity contest anyway?