Something about him....

After mccain's veep pick was announced, i overheard a conversation of 2 women talking about the election. One voiced her disgust with the whole process and all politicians and she didn't think she'd vote this year. The other talked about how the palin choice was unexpected and exciting and asked if the other had heard that she's a hockey mom....and she's a hockey mom. Then they said, "I have to say, there's something about obama. I just don't trust him." The other nodded in agreement and said, "I know what you mean! I don't either, I don't know what it is about him."

Since obama announced his presidential intentions, everyone has been talking about race. I scoffed at the idea that it made much difference. Initially, i thought obama being black just didn't matter to people of my generation. My parents, who remember the civil rights movement, and others of their age might be more aware of the fact he is black--like it or not.

What i've come to realize as the weeks have gone by is that obama being black might make a bigger difference that i had initially thought. People generally know it's not right to be racist. But have these two women i overheard ever trusted a black man? Do they know any black men? The bradley effect ("I'm not racist. I'll vote for the right guy. Hell if i vote for a black man, though.")has been referenced to suggest the election will be closer than expected.

The debate last night was good. They had time to debate and point out the weaknesses in each other's plans. Unfortunately, mccain spent much of the time on attack and had some low blows (who the hell cared about ayers??) and instead of drastically changing the direction of his campaign, he appeared angry and desperate. And talk about biting the tongue--obama's response to "Do you think she's qualified?" was cordial and respectful.

My brother has a very funny (er, scary) post about a conspiracy theory re: obama.