The change we need is in the air. No doubt about it.
Last night, I visited some dear friends for dinner. One friend has been a staunch Obama supporter from the beginning. Until recently, her hubby had been talking about putting a McCain sticker on his car. Friend's Hubby has adored McCain's straight-talkin', "Mavricky" ways for years, and he's a devout fiscal conservative.
Imagine my shock when we sat down to dinner and he announced, "I'm voting for Obama."
"You're what??" I asked, incredulous.
"I'm voting for Obama. I still have doubts about him -- he doesn't have enough experience. But McCain's pick of Palin means he can't be trusted."
As much as I've disagreed with his politics, I've always respected Friend's Hubby. He watches the news religiously; real news, not "Fox and Friends." He reads The Economist (really!) and is very savvy about international affairs. As far as I could tell, it was just his fiscal conservatism that kept him in the Republican fold.
Not this election year. Last night he said: "Obama's plan will increase spending a lot, and we can't afford that now. But McCain's plan will increase it even more. That's dangerous."
He noted that while he "still likes [McCain] personally," the Palin pick has him reeling. "It's nothing but a stunt. She's just not qualified to be President," Friend's Hubby said. He's got a high-stress job where saving lives is an everyday occurrence, and worries about the "1 in 5" chance that McCain will die in office. In his eyes, Palin simply isn't an acceptable alternative.
Throughout the conversation, he said that although he doesn't think Obama is experienced enough now, he believes Obama is "really smart," is capable of "learning what he doesn't know" and leading us through the crises we face.
Friend's Hubby also said something that staggered me: his wealthy, professional, very Republican friends are also voting Obama -- in most cases, voting Democrat for the first time in their lives. His take: his friends "want to send a message to the Republican Party that it's completely lost and needs to start from the ground up."
Now you know why your diarist left that house practically floating on air last night. We, here, aren't the only ones who see through McCain's curdled cynicism. We aren't the only ones who are angered by the Palin pick. Public opinion polls reflect this fact, but it's somehow incredibly reassuring that close Republican friends/family are beginning to see the light.