I was driving home from the gym this morning around 10:00, windows rolled down to naturally blow dry my hair, listening to my favorite pop music station. I’m about to turn onto the interstate to hop an exit home, when I hear a female’s voice saying, "excuse me!" My first thought was "what the heck is on the radio?" then I realized the lady in the lane next to me was calling for me.
I turned, figuring she was lost – she looked in her forties, driving a big SUV, and had an intense look on her face. Then she asked, "Where did you get your Obama bumper sticker?"
I was floored. I live in Marietta, which is in Cobb County, Georgia. Not exactly a bastion of liberalism (I regularly call myself the most liberal person in the whole county), I mean, our county gave the world Newt Gingrich and evolution stickers in textbooks.
I yelled back, "I got it from Move on for free!" She replied "thanks" as the light turned green, and then we parted ways.
chrisishardcore tells you the story of the numbers behind what’s happening in Georgia. But that only tells part of the story. It’s the old qualitative vs. quantitative discussion. It’s wonderful to see those statistics on voter registration in Georgia, and it’s a major part of the story. But there’s something else happening down here that just can’t be quantified.
I used to work as a tutor, and although I’m with the same company I’ve moved up the corporate ladder. A lot of my old kids here in Cobb County are suddenly interested in the presidential race, and it’s split about 50-50, Obama-McCain. And that’s pretty damn good for Cobb County, Georgia.
Unlike elections past, when I’m driving to work I’m not inundated with yard signs for the GOP candidates. Sure I see some McCain-Palin signs and bumper stickers in my county, but it’s miniscule compared to elections past. I saw more signs for County Commissioner than for president, and that’s unheard of in my county. And that’s pretty damn good for Cobb County, Georgia.
In the course of writing this, I’ve seen three Saxby Chambliss ads (two different ones, including that ridiculous ad saying there’s more oil in the US than in Saudi Arabia), one Jim Martin ad, and one Obama ad on local tv. Before this week, I’ve seen a whole bunch of Jim Martin ads and never have seen a Chambliss ad. Now Chambliss is clearly scared, and Jim Martin is running out of money. Thanks to kos for making him a O2B candidate, and I hope everyone that has any disposable income to donate some to Jim Martin, and if in Georgia I hope you consider volunteering for the Martin campaign like I will be doing on Friday. Martin has a legitimate shot of beating Saxby, and that’s not just pretty damn good for Georgia, that’s pretty damn good for America.
And a final note – I waited to post this until I got to work. The yard sign count as I drove through Marietta, Alpharetta, and Johns Creek – McCain/Palin – 1, Libertarian Candidate for Senate – 1, and none others in these hotbeds of conservative support. Something’s in the air, and it's pretty damn good for America.