Canvassing for Obama in rural Hanover, Virginia again today (Yesterday's post on my observations here). This is my best story of the day.
I'm just about done with my assignments and I head down a lane that has very little gravel on it. As I go along the gravel gets less and less. Finally, the road ends and I arrive in a very cluttered junky yard. Here are 5 guys, dirty T-shirts with no sleeves, some with beers in their hands, and 3 out of 5 of them with some semblance of the Confederate battle flag on them (one on his shirt, another on his cap). Beer guts, all white between 30 and 55 (They looked exactly like Larry the Cable Guy's five brothers).
I roll down the window and ask if so and so live here from my list and I identify that I am with the Obama Campaign (although I was wondering if I should include that).
"Nope, they live in a motel in Ashland now," was the response from the oldest, I'd say about 50 to 55 years old. But he continued, "You say you're from the Obama Campaign?" and he got up from leaning against the pickup truck and started to approach the car.
Oh boy, this is not good, I momentarily thought.
"Yep" I responded, "Have you decided who you are voting for?"
He looked around at his buddies, and I later figured out what was going through his head. He wasn't sure he wanted to say what he really thought in front of his buddies. "Well I tell you what. The only thing that matters is who the Vice [President] choice is, because McCain looks like he ain't gonna make it for too long, and Obama won't even get to the White House cuz' there's no-one in this country ready for a Black Man to be President."
"I am," I responded. "You think that someone will kill him?"
"I don't care if they're black, white, or Hispanic, as long as he's in it for the working man, he's the one for me, but there's a lot of racism out there yet."
"Well I think Obama's your man then. Well, Biden I mean. Did you see the VP debate the other night," I asked.
"Ya' I did," he responded and stopped.
"That Palin's a real idiot," I egged him on.
"She didn't answer the questions," he thundered
We went on to talk about the cost of living, cost of fuel (he owned a trucking company at one point) and other things for about 15 minutes. He doesn't think that the President will make a difference because the Congress will block everything because we will always have split government (he knew Civics a lot better than I had assumed).
Bottom line, Bubba's voting for Obama and he seemed to be the alpha male in the group. Maybe the others will follow suit.
Obama is going to win in Virginia!!