John and Sarah and Joe and Barack
Oct. 10th, 2008 08:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frameofmind6So McCain was at a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minnesota (rock on MN! Although I'm a little reluctant to be associated with this particular group of Minnesotans...), and one of the questioners expressed concern for the safety of his family if there were an Obama presidency. McCain reassured him by saying that, although he clearly feels he would be a better president, Obama is a decent man, and there is no reason to be afraid if Obama becomes president -- and the crowd (his own supporters, his base) "boo"ed him.
Yikes. Well this negative campaign of his is just biting him in the ass on both cheeks now isn't it? The undecided voters don't like it because it's not productive, and the base gets so sucked into it that when he has a flash of conscience and admits that Obama is not, in fact, the antichrist, they turn on him.
On the bright side, McCain has regained a small sliver of the respect he's lost from me over the past couple of months (and staunch Democrat though I am, I've always had a lot more respect for McCain than for any other Republican. Until recently, that is...). I don't think it'll do him much good in the election, but hey -- you reap what you sow.
The thing that really puzzles me more and more, I find, is this crippling fear of Obama as "the other." I mean, yes, okay, he's black -- duh. But the thing is, they all say people elected Bush because he was the kind of guy you'd want to have a beer with -- well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love to have a beer with Obama. I would be infinitely more comfortable talking to him than to Bush (even if I didn't know what Bush's politics were, or that he had spent the last eight years running the country into the ground). When I see him get up to speak, or when I see Michelle on talk shows, I'm always struck anew by how familiar they are. These seem like real people to me. They're parents who love each other, who set bedtimes for their kids, who call each other just to check in when they're on the road, who sit down together and talk about ideals and work and how to handle issues that came up with the kids that day. They actually remind me a lot of my parents -- not directly, per se (my parents are a bit dorkier, I'm afraid... *grin* We all are...), but in general. I mean, they both came from families that didn't have much money, put themselves through college and law school, built careers, and had a family. Aside from the part about getting into politics, my family isn't much different from theirs. To me, there isn't a single other person on the ballot who seems as real and familiar as Barack Obama.
Well, except maybe Palin -- I definitely heard that accent a lot growing up (*grin*). But she's mainly familiar as the friend's mom who pretends to be nice and welcoming, but who you soon learn to stay the hell away from...
(Speaking of whom, sounds like there's bad news on the Troopergate front. Apparently the Alaska legislature has released a statement proclaiming her guilty of abusing the powers of her office. Aw. Ain't that a shame...)
Yikes. Well this negative campaign of his is just biting him in the ass on both cheeks now isn't it? The undecided voters don't like it because it's not productive, and the base gets so sucked into it that when he has a flash of conscience and admits that Obama is not, in fact, the antichrist, they turn on him.
On the bright side, McCain has regained a small sliver of the respect he's lost from me over the past couple of months (and staunch Democrat though I am, I've always had a lot more respect for McCain than for any other Republican. Until recently, that is...). I don't think it'll do him much good in the election, but hey -- you reap what you sow.
The thing that really puzzles me more and more, I find, is this crippling fear of Obama as "the other." I mean, yes, okay, he's black -- duh. But the thing is, they all say people elected Bush because he was the kind of guy you'd want to have a beer with -- well, I don't know about anyone else, but I'd love to have a beer with Obama. I would be infinitely more comfortable talking to him than to Bush (even if I didn't know what Bush's politics were, or that he had spent the last eight years running the country into the ground). When I see him get up to speak, or when I see Michelle on talk shows, I'm always struck anew by how familiar they are. These seem like real people to me. They're parents who love each other, who set bedtimes for their kids, who call each other just to check in when they're on the road, who sit down together and talk about ideals and work and how to handle issues that came up with the kids that day. They actually remind me a lot of my parents -- not directly, per se (my parents are a bit dorkier, I'm afraid... *grin* We all are...), but in general. I mean, they both came from families that didn't have much money, put themselves through college and law school, built careers, and had a family. Aside from the part about getting into politics, my family isn't much different from theirs. To me, there isn't a single other person on the ballot who seems as real and familiar as Barack Obama.
Well, except maybe Palin -- I definitely heard that accent a lot growing up (*grin*). But she's mainly familiar as the friend's mom who pretends to be nice and welcoming, but who you soon learn to stay the hell away from...
(Speaking of whom, sounds like there's bad news on the Troopergate front. Apparently the Alaska legislature has released a statement proclaiming her guilty of abusing the powers of her office. Aw. Ain't that a shame...)