Monday: Misterio

I spent the weekend in PA and interviewed some of the people at the party for my nephew.  It was a good mix of Democrats, Republicans and Independents.

Not one Obama voter.

Some of them are feeling pressure from co-workers.  My sister says there are several African-American co-workers who say they are taking to the streets if Obama doesn’t win.  Jeez, I wish these people would grow up already.  Did you see Clintonistas rioting when her delegates were brutally suppressed and threatened and she was cheated out of the nomination by Obama and her own party?

Here are some of the comments from the partygoers:

“There’s something about him that just gives me the creeps.”

“Where did he come from?  You don’t just go from state senator in Illinois to presidential candidate in four years.  Somebody is backing him and I want to know who it is.”

“He’s too liberal.”

“He never says anything.  He just says generalities but I can’t pin down what he’s talking about.  I don’t know what he believes.”

“I have no faith in him.”

My spidey sense says that Obama’s biggest problem is that he can’t close the deal with Pennsylvanians because they can’t see past the glamour he projects.  Some of the people in my family got burned badly by Bush- twice.  They are bitten and shy and won’t get fooled again.  Obama has wrapped himself in mystery.  Where did he come from?  Who is behind him?  What does he stand for?  And why is it all so vague and indistinct?  It’s a trust issue.

Overall, there seems to be a great sadness.  Now that they see their choices, even the ones who were previously lukewarm for Clinton really regret that she’s not there.  I was surprised by how strong this feeling was.  They miss her and feel that we have squandered a great opportunity.  It feels depressing.

How will they vote?  There were no Obama voters among the crowd.  Most of them will vote for McCain/Palin.  They were not fooled by the nasty job that the media is playing on Palin.  They think the media is treating her badly, just like Clinton.  In fact, they are on to the media and know that it can’t be trusted.  My cousin’s husband says he flipped between CNN and MSNBC for commentary after the debate and laughed his ass off.  It was obvious that they were rewriting the results.  He finds it very entertaining when he knows the media is trying to con him.  He sees right through it now.

These are not politicos.  These are just regular Joes.  They work average middle class jobs pulling in slightly above average salaries.  State workers, health insurance processors, systems analysts, music teachers.  They come from Central and south west PA.  And they are just as savvy as we are now.  They’ve been educated and they’ve seen it all in the past eight years.  They don’t know why the media is slobbering all over Obama.  They’re just not that into Obama.  In fact, they don’t know quite *what* to make of him but whatever he is, they aren’t buying it.  It’s too mysterious.  They want the devil they know.

John McCain.