@tom_g In 04 I didn’t watch that much tv at all, and what little I did wasn’t the type that often had political commentary or even commercials. You have to remember I was a senior in HS, much more concerned with finding some kind of party to go to or a girl to sleep with. I was very loosely influenced by my friends (most of whom were not yet into politics either) and my family (who as I pointed out aren’t very heavy followers of politics). It just came down to “this guy is in here, I think he did good on 9–11, I would pick “safety” as the #1 issue and I think he’s good at it, and I don’t like that the other guy is a flip flopper”... lol, in retrospect I didn’t even know wtf a flip flopper was at the time. I was the epitome of uninformed voter.
While I’d always had my basic political tenants (which leaned democratic), I never followed politics until I started dating a girl (who is actually on fluther, though I no longer know her handle) who was very liberal and followed politics very closely. She got me following it, and I began to see how incredibly devoid of decency and sense the Republican party was.