I’ve known Pat McFerron for nearly 50 years. He’s probably the most senior of all Oklahomans who ply the craft of pollster/counselor/consultant and, due to his long relationship with U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, his information, data and contacts are as good as it gets here in ruby red Oklahoma. However, that does not mean his conclusions and opinions are also of such legendary accuracy because, of course, they are tinged with his own biases, background and “hired gun” bent.

And one other thing: McFerron, like most of us in the fairly small world of political activists in Oklahoma, tends to speak to, socialize with and work for people of similar orientation. That leads to an echo chamber dilemma of reinforcing views already held and, of course, I am guilty of the same behavior except for my classes at OU. There I have tried very hard to have as many, or maybe even more speakers come from the Republican world than Democrats – which is my registration and/or election background since 1958 when at the age of 13 I distributed literature door-to-door supporting my local county commissioner Lawrence “L. W.” McKiddy. He won 11 consecutive terms in office, totaling 22 years.

Back then pie suppers, speeches off the back of a pickup truck or on a bale of hay served as the best contact with similarly aligned voters and, frankly, others who were not so supportive and didn’t fail to tell you so.

That’s real retail, one on one, look voters in the eye, ask for every precious ballot to be cast your way and, in my case, I enjoyed 13 wins and two losses. The wins were a lot more fun than failures.

Fast forward to today. Both major parties are dominated by those on the outer edge of their political spectrum which, of course, fits the junior senator from Ohio … J.D. Vance. Even moderate to conservative Democrats and Independents won’t find much in his writings/speakings to flip them to the Trump Team and frankly vice-presidential choices are rarely the main reason we cast our votes anyway. It’s the main man or woman on the ticket that carries that challenge.

However, both parties do try to slide toward the middle of political thought once the general election approaches and that is where the very conservative author/senator Vance will try to convince an expanded pool of citizens he is, just as the liberal and current Vice President Kamala Harris will come to the middle from the left.

It is there that the winner on Nov. 5 will find enough Americans, plus their already locked in base, to reach the magic number of 270 electors, and presumably they will be the real ones, not the phonies pushed forward by the losing Trump ticket in 2020.

Meanwhile the Republican convention just ended, and the Democratic one will start Aug. 19 in, of all places, Chicago where the Donkeys also assembled in 1968.

Uh-oh.