Friday, October 31, 2008

The Mac is Back--0n the campaign trail with John McCain

A carload of us headed for the Nationwide Arena this afternoon to see John McCain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Hank Williams, Jr., plus a number of local and Ohio politicians. It was great fun and great weather. We chatted with a lot of people in line, and then in the seating area. Joe the Plumber actually had his own line of people and seating area. There were cheerleaders, a choir from a local school, someone from the German government (we were admiring his clothes), and a stunning number of young people. At first we didn't think the crowd was very large--maybe 10,000, then by 5:30 when the work day ended, we saw a huge influx of people. The woman in front of me kept holding up her sing, "Homeschoolers for McCain" so I couldn't actually see John McCain when he was speaking, but that was the only negative.

The driver of the car was both a WWII and a Korean War veteran. Betcha there aren't many of those at an Obama gathering. When John McCain asked for a show of hands of veterans so he could thank them, I told Marv to raise both arms. He had enlisted while still in high school, and when the war was over, went back to school and worked nights. Then he was in college when he was called up as a reservist for Korea. I wonder if kids at Obama rallies can fathom that sort of responsible behavior since Obama believes in running out on your allies.

Arnold's best line was, "John McCain spent more time in a POW prison than Obama has spent in the Senate." Big cheers. It speaks to experience and to . . . experience.

While we were waiting in line to get into Nationwide, the man next to us wearing a "Veterans for McCain" button said he'd been in the Air Force from 1955 to 1985--30 years. I wonder how many Obama rallies had 30 year military veterans. People who know the cost of security and freedom.

Then there was some silly stuff too. I chatted a bit with the 3 women in front of me. One crossed the line and went over to hug a man in another line who looked a little startled. I jokingly said to the other two, "I hope she knows that guy." "No, she probably doesn't, said the one. "She does that all the time."

Update: One of the Ohio bloggers has put up a video. Here's the link. It's been a long campaign; many urgent issues were not addressed at all that are of major concern to conservatives. Only the back and forth ads. The economy crunch in September blew everything out of the water, and Democrats could have had that fixed by getting down to business 18 months ago. We all saw it coming (although O'Reilly says he didn't), but for some crazy reason (I guess because we retirees are so rich), Obama ran with the pointed finger, none of somehow aimed at his buddies. Go figure. The man is a political genius and a moral failure. Anyway, enjoy the video--it's well worth watching again--Arnold is much more specific than McCain, although for that Californian to talk down socialism--that's a little stretch!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, there's Colin Powell, but then something like 97% of blacks are voting for Obama, so I'm not sure that counts.

R. L. said...

Colin Powell must be voting for Obama because Powell is black? It couldn't be because he thinks Obama would make a better President?

What did you say, Norma, about Sexism and Ageism being more of a problem?

Norma said...

Yes, I am saying that Colin Powell is voting for Obama because he's black. If I were black, I probably would too--I think we Euro-Americans cannot possibly understand the pull. Even seasoned civil rights leaders who resented his bi-racial heritage (and said some pretty crass things about him), and his acceptable nearly-white appeal he has for guilt stricken liberals have come around. But Obama and Powell were at opposite ends on the Iraq war, and in case you've forgotten, the war is what energized the leftists against Bush and his administration (that and hanging chads). Now that things are fairly calm there temporarily (we'll soon be hearing from Obama's friends in Iran), no one is mentioning how wrong Obama was--not even Powell.

R. L. said...

Huh. Maybe Powell didn't like the way he was treated by the Bush administration. Perhaps, just perhaps, he's come to a re-assessment of the Iraq war. Perhaps he doesn't believe that McCain has good a good grasp on what needs to be done. Nope, it HAS to be because Powell's black.

Are you truly so narrow-minded and blinkered that you can't comprehend that people might look at the issues, and facts, and come to a different conclusion that yourself? You have acknowledged that you voted liberal in the past. You changed our mind (or flip-flopped if you were running for election) How is it so hard to believe that maybe Colin Powell did the same, but just moved in a different direction?

Nope, you're right, it has to be because he is black. It is the ONLY explanation that makes sense. Thank God us white people can look past color and vote rationally (this was sarcasm for the literal minded who read this blog).

Norma said...

97% of blacks are voting for Obama and about 95% deny it's because he's black in one breath, and then going over the top with "it's the best thing that ever happened in my adult life" in the next. Yeah. Really hard to figure it out. It's just as good a reason as using party instead of issues. I'm assuming R.L. is a white liberal, but he might be black. Doesn't matter.

Interestingly, when quizzed outside of presidential polls, black Americans are at their core quite conservative. They know there is no economic future in handouts from the government; they know they don't want any more snooping and dishonest pols than they already have; they know the solution for their neighborhoods is not more pork; they know a police state when they see it. It's the whites in this election who are being duped, buying into Obama's clever message because he's articulate, and you know how important that is. The blacks will be thrilled to see one of their guys--even if he's a privileged liar with an ivy league education get to the White House. God knows, they've seen enough whites get there with the same credentials. It's the same reasoning behind the PUMAs supporting Palin. They are pretty much ignoring her politics to do it. I don't get it, but it's happening.

R. L. said...

I thought we were talking about Colin Powell - unless he is 97% of all blacks. Nice evasion.

Anonymous said...

Murray sez:
I am not voting for Obama even if he changes color. I was pulling for Obama against Hillary simply because I felt he was the lesser of the two evils. Now, after I hear his latest ideas on how to "save" the country, take donations from unknown sources, lie at every opportunity about taxes, and snug his poor illegal alien aunt, even Hillary looks good! No No No! Tell me I didn't just say that!