I was out yesterday doing my door to door canvassing in Jersey, when I was presented with something that Im sure people like me, canvassing for Obama, have met up wth before. The most vocal, though rarely visible, PUMA supporter. Normally you can still smell them a mile away by the still posted Hillary 08 lawn signs, Obama lawn signs crossed out, or the now fashionable Women for McCain lawn sign. This house had neither. Just a plain lawn, no adornments. Follow me, below the fold for more
To her credit, she let me say what I needed to say before she came with all of the PUMA "greatest hits". Im voting for McCain. I cant stand Obama. You know, sexism, media favoritism, she cant vote a muslim for president (memo to Keith Ellison, where are you on this smear? If anyone should be sticking up for Obama, its you), reverse race cards, too elitist, etc.
I figured to myself, as im readying a rebuttal, I cant win the sexism argument with her becuase, well she's a woman, so let me go after the muslim smears and charges of being too elitist.
Here is how I rebutted those things with a little help from my buddies, my laptop and the interweb with all its tubes. A little heavy to lug around canvassing, but whose presence has been HUGE in canvassing in my area of NJ, which has many low-info voters
Muslim smear-You know Minnesota has a congressman who happens to be Muslim. She didnt know that. I asked her if she had heard of Obama's pastor "situation". She said yeah, I dont like that guy. I told her, me either, but the man is a Christian. Then I said, how is it that Obama can be a Muslim and attend a Christian church? Her response, er..umm..well. Didnt he get sworn into the Senate with a Koran? A quick search refuted that.
Elitism--You know Barack Obama just finished pay student loans off right. She didnt know that. You know John McCain, for all his "straight" talk of not being elitist attended a private highschool, was the quintessential legacy child at the Naval Academy, finished 3rd from bottom in his class? Didnt know that either. You know his 2nd wife (made sure to say SECOND)says the only way to get around Arizona is by a private plane and is sitting on around 80-100 million dollars in inheritance money. You know he owns between 5 and 9 homes? Didnt know that, too. She responded however with so I guess theyre both elitists, huh. Something from her point of view, was unarguable. But i managed to do it this way. What if you were hit with a brain tumor and you needed brain surgery? Would you want an elite brain surgeon, who graduated top 5 percent of his class, degrees on the wall like wallpaper, long history of successful work, who can ease your mind about the surgery by taking you through step by step, no matter how ong he spoke, operating on you. Or the guy who was bottom third of is class, who skated through depending on friends taking notes in class while he slept, got his job becuase his father has a practice, and when explaining the procedure tells you, dont worry about it, and shows you a degree from DeVry University? Her response, of course the elite. So I said, see being elite isnt such a bad thing. All it really means is that you are at the top of your field. Personally, I want some in the White House who actually thinks about things instead of someone who "goes with his gut" or can apply a deadly soul stare into Putin who everyone knows has no soul.
To finish this up, I couldnt get her to say she would vote for Obama, but she did say that she would take a closer look at McCain and see if she really wanted to vote for her. For me and my laptop, mission accomplished. I always dread about canvassing a PUMA household, but have found a new approach to use when I come upon one. Break out the laptop, and show the voters, live, on-screen exactly what they need to know. Essentially providing those "low-info" voters we hear about with the info they need and arent getting, to make a decision.