Vice Presidential Dreams

I had funniest dream I’ve ever had in my life last night. We had the coffeehouse, so I know standing up on that small raised stage and holding the microphone is part of why I dreamed this. And when Laura brought her journal so she could read her poems, I looked through at the other entries (authorized parental reading, not snooping, by the way) and she had written this wonderful entry titled “If I were the President.” Let’s just say she has some liberal leanings, and that I love that.

So in this dream, I am John Kerry’s vice-presidential nominee, and I am debating Dick Cheney. It’s the roaming presidential candidate debate format, with the tall stools and the microphones. Bob Schieffer is asking the questions, and we are taking our turns, just wandering all over that stage. The questions were absolutely a hoot. I woke up late, so I couldn’t get up and write everything down before I forgot it all, so I only remember one of them now. Bob Schieffer says to me, “Professor, many of America’s largest corporations are moving in their advertising away from the Baby Boomer generation as a target to the younger generations. What are your thoughts about this trend and the effect it might have on the economy?” Not exactly the most burning question of the campaign, you think? And there I am, answering this question just as dead seriously as can be, at the same time that I’m watching myself and just laughing.

The best part about this dream is that I’m telling my friends about it at lunch, including a very good friend who, shall we say, doesn’t share my political persuasion, and as soon as I said, I’m the vice-presidential candidate, he says to me, “That would greatly increase my chances of voting for Kerry.” A funny dream and a lovely compliment all in the same day.