I learned last night at a gathering of my mother's family that a cousin of mine in Chicagoland is voting Obama. An uncle of mine told me that he received an e-mail from the cousin, and my uncle is an impeccable source on such matters.
Since neither of us had any brothers and since our mothers are close, my cousin was a big brother figure for me as a kid. We have always been poles apart politically, and it's been years since we've had a political discussion. I still recall, when we were kids, driving through a black neighborhood in Mich City, IN, and sitting next to him in the back of his mother's station wagon as he yelled out the window at black kids. My aunt, who is equally intolerant, told him to shut up for reasons of safety rather than conviction.
My cousin is apparently concerned about the Palin pick and what is says about McCain's judgment. Since my cousin has been very successful (he has a summer home down the street from Mayor Daley's), I suspect that his investment portfolio is a major factor as well. The investing class has finally learned that, as Dr. Dean always said, you can't trust the GOP w/ your $.
On Tuesday, I saw an attorney w/ a Palin 2012 sticker on his laptop. That observation, combined w/ this news, are 2 strongly anecdotal indicia of where things currently stand. George Will predicting an across-the-board Dem sweep on Georgie's show today is still another. Gov. Crist's extending early voting hours and visibly distancing himself from the GOP ticket may be the best evidence of all.
There was 1 final piece in the puzzle on the local ABC affiliate's "This Week in South Florida" show this morning. The host invited both candidates in the FL-21 and FL-25 races to debate on his show. While Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez both appeared, neither Diaz-Balart appeared. The host ended up interviewing Garcia and then Martinez solo. Both of them, IMHO, acquitted themselves well.
The whole thing was rather odd. Who allows their opponent 10 mins of uninterrupted air time on a network affiliate 2 days pre-election? Are the brothers that arrogant? Are they that afraid of being publicly challenged by their respective opponents? Are their internals that good?
Tuesday night should prove to be very interesting both nationally and locally.