Strange Days Indeed

I just got back from taking a trip to four states in four days and have a few interesting observations from life on the road:

I landed in Chicago where I asked our cab driver if he was excited that his Senator would be the next President of the United States. He told me the race was not over, that McCain would win, and he was voting for him. I told him that I admired McCain's service to our country and asked him why he was voting for McCain in 08. He told me that he really liked Sarah Palin, thought she was cute, and wanted to take her to dinner. As I left the cab I told him it was nice talking politics with him and wished him well. Oh, did I forget to tell you that he was black? I thought it was all about race............hmnnn

In Houston I was seated next to the superintendent of Anchorage public schools. Now you don't get to be superintendent of schools on your looks or flute playing abilities alone so I figured this woman was really smart. I told her that I read her name tag and saw that she was from Alaska. She said, "you want to ask me about Sarah Palin, she is exactly what she seems." I asked her what that was and she said, "she is a nice person, very personable, but there is no substance. She does not think deeply about issues and has a lack of critical thinking." I asked her how many times she has met Palin, "Oh she said, I have been in dozens of meetings with her and I have watched her work up close. She is not ready to be President."

While I was traveling the former Republican Secretary of State (2000-04) came out to endorse Obama as did the former Republican Press Secretary. This is unheard of in my political lifetime and is one more mark on how inept the Bush administration has become. As usual the non voting, non military serving, criminal drug addict Rush came out and LITERALY screamed that this was all about race. This surely gave comfort to the non-thinking but if this was all about race, as Rush told us it was, why did Powell not endorse Alan Keys or Jessie Jackson or Al Sharpton? Hmnnnn.......thinking makes my head hurt.

I met and was able to speak with Dan Rather in Houston. I asked him his thoughts on the race and without missing a beat he said that Obama would win. He than went on to tell some public speaking stories from his early days where he followed "las vegas dancing girls." Needless to say that in those good ole Texas days those events were men only.

In Oklahoma, maybe the only solid red state left, I saw a giant billboard on the side of the road that said, HELL IS REAL. I could only think of my brother and wondered why not paint, GOD IS LOVE.

So, all in all it was a good week, the Raiders won, I met Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) and Dan Rather, Obama is up by 5 points in Colorado, two more former Bush employees are voting for Obama, and best of all, after countless hours talking at Dodger games, family gatherings, and on the phone, MY BROTHER IS VOTING FOR OBAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now, if I could only get my cool surfer uncle to help save trestles..............ah, a man can dream.