I am watching MSNBC's coverage of Obama and he's at a townhall meeting. I was struck by a conversation he had with a farming family that was upset with the way larger companies have come into their area and bought up all of the land, driving up their costs.
But what amazed me wasn't the way he answered the question... it was the way he asked questions of the family. "How much of this consolidation affects other farmers and your area?" "What does that do to land prices?" "What have you been able to do about health care?"
And it struck me...
He could have just taken the question, offered a generic answer, and moved on. It's what 99.9% of other politicians would have done. But instead, Obama asked questions back. He tried to fully understand the situation and all nuances before offering a response.
Anyone can punch out easy sound bite answers, but it takes someone with legitimate compassion to show interest in an issue and actually attempt to learn more about it from the people involved. THAT is what will eventually win over "the working class." THAT is what will restore our country and allow us to respect the presidency again.
We've finally got a candidate running for the highest office who cares about us.