You wouldn't pick most 74-year-old white men to support Obama. Particularly not when they identify themselves as strong McCain supporters. And especially not after they complain about the "lazy coloreds on welfare." But I've heard tell of stranger things.
"I'll tell you why I'm voting for McCain. Because back in the 1990's, my wife, why, she used to own a little hair salon up the street here. And she had these colored girls working for her. And wouldn't you know it, lots of 'em were collecting welfare too. They're lazy. When the republicans got control of congress, that all stopped right away."
His name was Warren. He was 73, out for a walk with his wife, carrying a walking stick.
I'm 27, probably look more Puerto Rican than anything else, have big traps, and usually - though not intentionally - sport a slight scowl. I had stopped him and his wife to ask whether or not they were registered to vote, and - if so - whether they had decided to support Barack Obama or John McCain. His wife answered first, "McCain." She smiled, and continued walking. But Warren stayed put. He wanted to talk. That's when he gave me the aforementioned reason for voting McCain. He went on for a bit, about the blacks on welfare. And then he turned to Senator Obama, saying that he was "really just a young kid, relatively speaking."
No doubt Warren and his wife were not on my list. I guess we would classify them as strong McCain supporters. I guess, being objective, it didn't make much sense for me spend much time, standing there on the sidewalk, talking to a man whose initially proffered reason for supporting John McCain had something to do with the "lazy coloreds on welfare". But I couldn't resist. In spite of his somewhat questionable remarks, he didn't seem like a bad guy. He was just old.
The conversation was a wide-ranging one. After saying his initial piece, it was clear that Warren had lots of questions. One of the first was, "How did we get into this whole Wall Street mess?" So the topic turned to houses, mortgages, deregulation, American largess, and greed. We both agreed that (1) banks shouldn't have been giving people massive mortgages when they knew those people couldn't afford it and (2) that people should exercise some common sense and personal responsibility and buy houses they can afford. I said, "Hey, in my book, I think it's a good thing for people to own their own homes. But if you're making $50,000 a year, I don't think you should be buying a $500,000 house." We agreed on that one too.
Having penned a few articles on the Bear Stearns fiasco for a hedge fund magazine, I told Warren - in layman's terms - what happened. "You mean to tell me they were treating houses like mine right here like they were worth 2 or 3 times what they really are? And nobody was keeping tabs on 'em?" Warren was shaking his head. From there, the conversation turned to deregulation. To Obama's early efforts at tighter regulation of investment banks. To lobbyists and favors. Whenever he heard enough on one subject, he turned to another.
"Now I'm from up near Pittsburgh, and back when I was young, I used to work all sorts of odd jobs. Then I eventually got good work as a machinist. There used to be good jobs like that. Now they're all shipping down to Mexico. What happened there? It's that.. begins with an N... what's it called?" We talked about NAFTA. And about the odd jobs that we held as younger men. We both - at one point - worked construction. And one time, he says, he tried his hand as a courrier. "My father died when I was fifteen," he says, "so whatever it took to pay the bills." I tell him about how I worked the graveyard shift at a factory during winter break from college, so I had enough money to afford textbooks for the spring semester. He asks me what kind of factory. It was a bucket-making factory, greenhouse supplies and the like. I tell him all about it. He laughs.
As much as we were talking politics and policy, we were also trading biographies. He was telling me about himself, his life, where he grew up. I say, "They've got good football up there, up near McKeesport." He's surprised I know it, surprised I know the layout of Western Pennsylvania. But I'm from Pennsylvania myself. He asks where from. And on it goes.
He doesn't like Sarah Palin. She scares him. She doesn't know what she's doing. He wanted Romney, someone with a steady hand. "In fact, you know who I really like? That Colin Powell. I bet you he'd a won if he was running." I agree with him, "Lots of people like Colin Powell. He's one of the good guys." He nods in agreement, pauses, then says "Shame bout how they used him for Iraq. You know... with those.. um.. you know... when he was talking to the UN. And we never found any of those weapons anyhow." He pauses again. "I don't think he likes them too much. I mean, the republicans." So the topic turns to Iraq. He says, "I hate war. I hate the thought of it. I'm the last person I could imagine out there in a fox hole." We talk casualties. My buddy from back home had his face blown off by a grenade. I know kids who are over there right now. And we're spending trillions that we could be spending here. And Warren is nodding his head in agreement. And now he has another question,
"So tell me something. Why are you a democrat?" And the way he asks that question, you can tell that he genuinely wants to know.
I run down the bulleted list. Iraq. Education. Healthcare. Yeah, he says, "I just had an MRI. Cost $7,000. I mean, I got medicare, but still That's so high. I had some dental work done while back, needed a tooth fixed. 1200 bucks. Just doesn't make sense." I nod in agreement, and keep going down my list. No more unnecessary wars. Diplomacy. Rebuilding America's relations with the rest of the world. I say something like, "You know, the democrats.. they want really basic things. They're really moderate. They want some basic things that are good for people, good for America."
He's fiddling with his stick again. He's standing up on the side-walk, running his walking stick along the gutter, flicking up some of the dead leaves and grass, and nodding his head. He says, "I'm old. And you know, McCain's old too. And that worries me. I'm 73. And he's my age. And that Obama, he's.. he really is smart as a whip, there's no questioning that."
I just nod in agreement.
Warren asks, "Can I have one of those fliers?" So I hand him some Obama literature. He says, "Thanks for talking with me. It was good to talk to someone educated. I mean, I only ever went to high school myself."
"Nothing wrong with that brother. Like I said, nobody in my family went to college before me."
"But you know what I mean. It was good to talk to someone who could answer my questions. But I gotta go catch up to my wife, wherever she is. Got some thinking to do."
And with that, he reached out, shook my hand, then took his walking stick, and shuffled on down the road.
Now I'm not saying that Warren is going to go vote for Barack Obama on November 4th. But I am saying that he'll think about it. And to me, that means a lot.