Red, blue or rainbow?

So New Zealand goes to the polls tomorrow. Have to say, that when your country's election follows the American election by three days it does starkly highlight the differences between the two elections. Barack spent over a billion on his campaign, and John Key, the head of the National Party, well, today he's chartered a seventeen seater plane. And I would imagine that's his campaign budget shot to pieces.

When it comes to deciding who to vote for, I spend time considering parties' policies, the state of the economy, the personalities, my personal beliefs and then I cast my vote accordingly.

However, being the shallow, fickle person I am there are some things that will make me seriously consider if I should be voting for a candidate or not. A cardboard cutout of a waving candidate smiling with a blank look in their eyes that I have to drive by every single day, regardless of whether there is an election on, will not make me vote for them. It makes me want to take a gun and use their cardboard cutout for target practice.

People waving placards with a candidate's on it, on the island of very busy intersections, will not make me vote for them.

I really don't get the psychology of it at all, do these people think I am going to be standing in the polling booth thinking, 'Now, let me see, who shall I vote for this year? Hmmmm, red, blue, green or the other ones? Oh I know! I saw those people waving those signs at the intersection. That looked like fun, I'll vote for them, goodo!'

One thing I do like about elections is that they bring out all sorts of people out of the woodwork. Polling booth people watching is sensational, you're always guaranteed to see a whole lot of crazy.
I would be almost tempted to volunteer to do it, unfortunately the reality is that I am far too lazy to do anything apart from entertain the thought.