I just got back in town so I wasn't able to vote on the first day of early voting in Georgia. It's the last day to register, so I decided to make sure I voted today just in case I encountered a problem. I put my computer on sleep to run over to the county to cast my ballot. I was shocked and elated to see a very, very long line. I never felt so good to wait on a long line. The workers were a bit disorganized, but everyone was happy and patient. It was an amazing experience.
While I was on line I helped to give out the forms the people had to fill out in order to vote. After I voted, I helped direct a little traffic and wheeled a disabled person around the building and down a steep dangerous hill so she could vote. When I was leaving I stood in the parking lot truly amazed at the car loads of people coming to vote.
After I left, I stopped by the bank and the teller noticed my "I'm a Georgia Voter" sticker. She asked with excitment, "You voted?" I told her I did and she yelled over to another teller "She voted already." Even the person working the front customer service desk came over to talk about when he was going to vote. They all wanted to be among the first to vote, way before November 4.
Here's a shot of a first time voter, John Jude. He's just old enough to vote in this election. He was very proud to cast his ballot for the first time. He said he voted for President Obama.
This article by Bradley Burston (read Obama-hate, and Sarah Palin's War on Terror here) in the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel offers keen insight on the race baiting tactics being used by the McCain Campaign against Senator Obama. The McCain-Palin crew has decided to change the subject from the looming DEPRESSION to race. Easy for them, they don't have to wait in long lines for gas, worry about how they will pay their mortgage, and are not concerned about their job, savings, or retirement. They have the luxury to spend time talking about race. Even though Palin may not be that exposed to national and international issues, most Americans are and will not be distracted by BS.If you are planning to vote for John McCain because you view him as a man of rare integrity, demonstrated courage, intellectual and political independence, and because you believe him to be more seasoned and more savvy than Barack Obama in the realms of foreign policy, the applications of military force, and such domestic issues as taxation, health care, social security and welfare reform, you can stop reading this right now.
If you have decided to vote for Sarah Palin because you admire her as gutsy and fresh-thinking and an authentic Reagan Republican, and because you identify with her views on abortion, the right to buy and hold arms, and the excesses and interventions of big government, you can stop right here.
This is not going to be a column about issues, nor fitness for high office. And though this is not about racism in the classical sense, it is specifically about the passion and prejudices - race being just one of them - with which some people hate Barack Obama.
Obama-hate is worth a close look not only for what it tells us about political campaigns, but for what it can teach us about America itself, its divisions and the possibility of healing. The story goes on to show how McCain is trying to appeal to the "Joe Six-Pack Crew" looking for an excuse to vote against Obama:As she proved in her speeches accepting John McCain's and her party's nominations, Governor Palin is a person with acute skills of self-expression. She knows exactly what response - and what bigotry - she will elicit when she denigrates the concept of a "community organizer."
Just as she knows precisely what message she's sending when she states that Barack Obama "is not a man who sees America like you and I see America."
She knows to the letter what flags she's flying when she implies that Obama not only does not love his country but reviles it, even to the point of being a fellow traveler to subversives and potential terror murderers.
Nor is it any accident that she uses the term "terrorists" - unnamed, plural, and in general usage in America, often referring to Islamic radicals - rather than focusing on the one man in question.
Sarah Palin has crossed a line. She could have used her powers of persuasion to advance her ideals. Instead, she has joined those who have chosen to fight Obama with prejudice. In the process, she has widened America's fault lines, equating her coy "you and I" with love of country. Her opponent, then, is the Non-Us, the AntiUs, and, by extension, the Unamerican. After listing 10 reasons the McCain campaign is trying to scare people from voting for Senator Obama, the article sums up the McCain campaign strategy and gives insight on what the rest of the world thinks of the Republicans right now.In segregating America into Us and AntiUs, Sarah Palin is asking for the votes of all Americans in order to speak for half of them. The half she believes loves the country. In denying Barack Obama his love of country, she has denied the vision, the values, and the profound patriotism of the remainder. In doing do, she does a disservice to both sides, and to America. read Obama-hate, and Sarah Palin's War on Terror here
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