This isn't a big long diary. It's not going to change the world. It's not a detailed analysis of some minutia regarding the election. It's just a look at one person's experience and I'm not going to apologize for posting it as a diary. If you're looking for something earthshaking, you probably want to navigate away from this diary.
I have some friends, a married couple, who are registered independent and admit to not being politically aware. They lean conservative where the vast majority of my other friends are all liberal.
A few months ago Mel said she didn't know who she would vote for in the presidential election (McCain was a lock then, Barack was not). I said "the only thing I'll say about that is that the next president will likely get as many as three appointments to the Supreme Court." Her response was "well we can't have McCain doing that!"
More below the fold.
So I was visiting these friends again (they live about 400 miles away from me) a few weeks ago and Mel brought up the topic of the election and said "I just don't know who I'm going to vote for." I said "really? I'm just stunned that you would consider McCain." She didn't directly answer that, but she did make it clear that she thinks Palin is a loon.
I asked her "what don't you like about Obama?" Her response...? "I'm not a Democrat." Here's what happened from there:
Me: But what don't you like about Obama?
Mel: I'm not a Democrat.
Me: But what don't you like about Obama?
Mel: I'm not a Democrat.
At that point, I gave up. I could see I wasn't going to get anywhere and, since we're all Californians, I was confident that their votes would go to Obama anyway. I figured that I can't change her mind if I don't know what her objection is. Now I think I know....
Today she e-mailed me and said "You'll be proud of us. We voted Democratic! It was fun to torment you though."
I now think she couldn't come up with an objection to Obama because she didn't have one! She was just enjoying elevating my blood pressure! They got me good.
When I was under the impression they were considering McCain I resigned myself that I wasn't going to risk a very important friendship (we're pretty much best buds) over trying to change their minds. Again, I figured that Barack will win California anyway, so their potential McCain votes weren't going to do McCain any good. I also thought that, with it looking good for Barack to win, his first term in office would convince them that he was the right choice. What a treat to find out that they were stringing me along.
I was just so thrilled to get the e-mail from her that they are supporting Barack, that I had to report this. I doubt that my point about the Supreme Court was the tipping point. I think it's highly likely that they would have reached the conclusion that they couldn't vote McCain anyway. They may not follow politics, but they don't bury their heads in the sand, either.
Who'd have thunk that I'd enjoy being the butt of a joke? Frankly, this butt is quite content being one in this case.