Young, female and undecided

Editor’s Note: Cat del Valle Castellanos is a writer and a regular contributor to Maria Shriver’s Open Field Network. For her father Alex’s recent take on the election, click here

While I was raised with conservative values, I grew up in a progressive town, Washington, D.C., where openly gay teachers were normal and a pregnancy didn’t mean you had to visit a cousin in Europe for nine months.

I’m fiscally conservative and socially liberal. As I wait for the final presidential wrestling match Monday night, I’m three debates down, drowning in attack ads, and I still don’t know who to vote for.

Debates are great fodder for Jon Stewart and SNL’s “Weekend Update” (who doesn’t love a good babbling-Biden joke?), but for me, the debates haven’t changed anything.

President Obama is less of a rock star than he was four years ago. Still, in comparison to Mitt Romney, he’s Aerosmith. I get the feeling that Obama has thought about the future of American youth and has made a clear effort to bring them into his cause.

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Let’s face it, it’s cool to vote for Obama. This is why any young celebrity supporting Romney will make headlines a la Lindsay Lohan and Stacey Dash. (Who is Stacey Dash? Here comes a joke in itself: She’s best known for her role as “Dee” in the movie Clueless.)

Ignoring the crash-and-burn and B-list celebrities on his side, I’m wondering: Why hasn’t Romney made any effort for the youth vote?

Romney reminds me of everyone’s embarrassing Grandpa Eddie, who thinks gays can be “turned” and doesn’t understand why you can’t roll down your windows on an airplane. His ultra-conservative lifestyle – his adherence to his faith’s ban on drinking, his tendency to say “shoot” and “darn it” – tells us he’s from another generation.

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His now infamous “47%” confession didn’t help. True, 47% of the nation wasn’t going to vote for him anyway, but I don’t want a president who thinks, “Half of you are worthless – but choose me!” It’s probably not the smartest political strategy to tell people they are incapable and then ask them for their vote.

I’m the demographic Romney needs to win over: Young, female, undecided. My conservative side wants to like Mitt, but he’s not making it easy. Don’t tell me you’re out of work and understand unemployment when you are worth $200 million and post-grads like me can’t find a job. Don’t say, “Planned Parenthood, we’re going to get rid of that,” like you’re throwing out an old sofa. Planned Parenthood is not a “that.”

Give me something, anything, to work with. A recent “Saturday Night Live” skit had Jay Pharoah portraying Obama. He said, “There’s your choice, America: Stick with what’s been barely working, or take your chances” with Romney.

Unfortunately, that’s the best summary I’ve heard of the 2012 election.

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Obama, my socially liberal side supports you, but what about the national debt? Hope and change were great slogans, but they are not plans. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice… Am I voting for you when I should know better?

Romney, show me you are human. Inform me with reason but connect to me with emotion. Use that connection to get your point across. I know your hair looks like it came off a Lego man, but there has to be more there than plastic.

I may be young, but I’m certainly not worthless, and I’m not in the “47%.”

In fact, I’m the most valuable American Romney could have: 100% undecided.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Cat del Valle Castellanos.