Inlaws and Politics

I just spent the week in Florida with my inlaws. It was an enlightening week. Here are a few things I learned:

1. They didn't understand the issue involving the Florida Delegation to the Democratic National Convention. They were mixed up between the delegates that were elected to go the the Denver and the Electoral College. They couldn't express it well, but thought that somehow the Democratic National Committee would be preventing Florida's votes from counting in November. My father in-law kept saying that Obama was in favor of taxation without representation.... Even after I explained the what had happened and how it would have no impact on the Electoral College, I am not sure they fully understood.
2. In general, they have a very superficial view of the issues in the campaign, but they feel strongly about their views. A couple of examples about this is how they said that Obama isn't talking to them about what really matters - Social Security and MediCare. I didn't say that they weren't listening, but that is what I thought.
3. My mother in-law supports Obama and my father in-law supports Clinton. Neither ever really told me what they liked about the candidate they support. The one thing I did get from my father in-law is that the fact that Obama is black might prevent him from voting for Obama in November. He doesn't support Bush, he doesn't support anything that McCain says from what I can tell, but the idea of voting for a black man will definitely be a hurdle to get over.
4. Both of them are very anti-immigrant. They talked about how the immigrants were taking over all the good jobs. It was interesting that they took this very personally even though they are both retired and not looking to work. They could point to no situation in their personal experience where an immigrant took over the job of someone they know, but the whole concept got their blood boiling. I guess the good news here for the Democrats is that the anti-immigration wing of the Republican Party can't be very happy with a candidate like McCain who supports "amnesty" for illegal immigrants.
   
5. My father in-law reads the newspaper religiously every morning. While he seems to comment most on things like the weather and local issues, I see that he reads the national news. The frustrating thing for me is that there is so little national news in their local paper. Thank God for the Internet!

Other ramblings....

Obama is ahead in the latest Gallup Poll by 10 points. This even after Geraldine Ferraro and the Jeremiah Wright controversy. I wonder what his lead would look like if those issues hadn't happened...

Hillary has no plans to drop out.

I found it interesting that the week before I left for Florida, Hillary's campaign said that the Jeremiah Wright story was off-limits for discussion. Now that the patriotism innuendo seems to have fallen on deaf ears, Hillary is talking about Reverend Wright.

While I was away, both Governor Richardson and Senator Casey endorsed Barack Obama. Has anyone noticed that in the last two months, there has been a steady stream of major national figures endorsing Obama and virtually no major endorsements for Clinton. The fact that Obama continues to roll up endorsements is pretty amazing when you consider how many of the major players in the Democratic Party must owe a lot to the Clintons.

Speaking of endorsements... I thought it was interesting what both Richardson and Casey said about how they arrived at their decisions. Casey said that his kids lobbied him to endorse Obama. (I don't find that surprising since mine did the same to me. Nice to know they are paying attention.) Richardson said that he was torn and went back and forth between the two for the last month or two. He seemed to say, however, that Obama's approach was a lot less pushy. Obama seems to be a true gentleman in everything that he does. He also said that Obama's speech in Philly last week helped push him over the top.

Of course, the Judas comment by James Carville probably reaffirmed that he made the right decision. The Clintons and their whole team seem to treat everything as good vs evil. Obama would never have reacted that way. And that, I think, speaks volumes.

That's all for today....

Barack Obama - Is he the One?

I haven't posted for a while. I think maybe it is time to refocus this blog. Since we are in an election season and it is a very exciting election, I have decided to write about that.

I am a recent convert to Barack Obama. I supported Hillary since she announced her campaign for President. Until the week of Super Tuesday, I thought that Hillary would make the best President.

Here is why I changed my mind.

1. Barack Obama has the potential to be a once-in-a-generation leader. For years I have said that the thing we need (and by we, I mean not just the US, but the world) is a leader like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. Alternatively, we need a common enemy - martians invading from outer space would serve as long as we can beat them off - to unite the world so we can put our differences into perspective and come together for the common good. While Obama may turn out to be a typical politician, he has the potential - for the first time in my adult life - to be the leader who can bring us together for a brighter future.
   
2. We need a change from politics as usual. While I have long been a progressive when it comes to politics, I have become disillusioned with the constant bickering between the parties. Instead of really looking in depth at problems and working out solutions, our political leaders always seem to play the "Gotcha" game. And the news media plays along. Every statement is twisted and tortured to try to get the other side. I used to think it was just the Republican Sound Machine, but what I have seen is that the Democrats play the same game. Bill and Hillary are experts at it. Barack is trying (in vain, it sometimes seems) to rise above that and use his national prominence to inspire and to try to bring people together. He may not achieve it, but I have some hope that a campaign between John McCain - who though very tough, appears to me to be a gentleman - and Barack Obama, may be more a campaign of ideas and differences than "Gotchas".

If for no other reason than the future of our children, we should give Barack Obama a chance to change politics and, possibly, to change the way we view our country and our world.

Here's to Hope.