I just got a phone call from my father. He's a wonderful man, but as a small business owner he's been a solid GOP voter for as long as I've been alive. I remember having intensely heated arguments with him after the 2000 election -- screaming, swearing, slamming down the phone arguments. I remember sitting in the car with him shaking my head and grinding my teeth as he explained to me in 1996 that, as a 19 year old newly minted voter, it was my duty to vote Bill Clinton out of office to help keep the family business strong. I just got another heated call from my old man. He's fired up and ready to vote for Obama.
I'll admit it wasn't a complete surprise. My more moderate, Obama-supporting Mom had called me an hour before to tell me how much she and Dad liked Obama's speech. She laughed as she mentioned him watching closely with the Tivo remote, going back to replay the parts that really spoke to him. I know my Dad has never been a McCain fan, so I figured he might just sit this election out. But the pick of Sarah Palin tossed him over to our side.
I picked up the phone expecting to hear my Dad mildy compliment Obama. But from the get-go, he was on fire. "How could McCain be so stupid to choose someone with so little experience? How stupid does he think we are?" he shouted. "I think I'm voting for Obama," he went on. "Look at the housing market. Look at gas prices. McCain's just gonna be a Mini-Me of Bush! And how does this inexperienced Alaskan Governor help any of that!"
He then expressed a few reservations about voting Dem, but seemed to be answering his own concerns: "I think Obama will have to raise taxes to pay for the things he wants to do, but if he can stop us wasting so much damn money on the war, maybe it won't be so bad. And I worry about all the racists in this country, but I think Obama's mixed heritage will reassure many of them. We could never elect Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton, but Obama's not like them."
Beyond that, he went on to ridicule his uber-conservative brother-in-law. "He says Obama is dumb. Can you believe that? How stupid is he to say that? The guy is obviously brilliant, whether you agree with him or not."
Shockingly, it went even further. "Hillary was great this week. Bill was great too, but he always is. I'm going to watch where they go at the Republican Convention next week, but I don't see how I can vote for McCain."
It's a huge day in my family history. Dad's on board, and I'm sure there's more out there just like him -- folks who feel their personal interests were best served by the GOP for years, but are inspired by Barack and just can't get behind McCain's BS.
Thanks for letting me share.