I had a toilet that wouldn't stop running and needed a new garabage disposal installed. It was time to call John the plumber. When we first moved here nine years ago I asked a co-worker to recommend somebody for plumbing work. She told me to call John. It seems just about everybody around town knows John. He doesn't have a fancy ad in the yellow pages or a shiny new truck with a logo on the door. His business comes from word of mouth and he keeps his customers because he does good work, doesn't charge an arm and a leg and likes people. He'll carry on a nice conversation with you and even show you how to fix the problem so you can do it yourself next time without having to call him. He's a good guy.
I was pulling a couple of pipes out of the way under the sink to give John some room to put in the garbage disposal. He turned the conversation to politics, bringing up the presidential race. John told me he was a Republican, but he seemed more interested in talking about the Democratic race. As it turns out, I came away thinking that if he is in any way a typical example of the American voter in 2008 we are in for a pretty amazing election this year.
His view is that if John McCain is elected we'll basically get more of the same, and more of the same would be pretty awful. If Hillary Clinton wins we'll get constant political fighting and nothing will get done. But if Barack Obama is our next president he feels we'll have a great opportunity to move forward and start solving our real problems. "I'm so sick of the bickering," he said. "Obama reminds me of John Kennedy. He's so inspiring, doesn't care about all the political wars, and just wants to bring us together and do what's best for the country. I know I'll be voting for him."
I have to admit I was startled to hear this coming from a 60-year old white Republican small businessman. The Obama phenomenon may be tapping into something almost primal in people these days. We face so many major problems, so many of which have been apparent for years. People want decision, they want action, they want a third way. It seems a lot of people are ready to dare to hope and let Obama give it a try. Even people you would never have expected. Obama is putting out the call, asking a cynical country to dare to believe again. But can we? He says, "Yes we can. We are the ones we have been waiting for. Now is our time. Now is our moment." When guys like John begin answering that call it is hard to believe otherwise.
3 comments:
I'm not a white Republican male, but a lot of what John says makes sense. That's the way I've been feeling for years.
Compared to all the other possible Democrat candidates, Obama stands tall in many ways. He would be a strong general election candidate and possibly a good President. But why do the comparisons to Kennedy re-assure anyone? Yes, he is charismatic, a quality he shares with JFK, but weren't both rather thin on experience when the ran for national office? And another Obama-comparison that doesn't re-assure me is with Governor Schwartzenegger. He also is charismatic but entered office with a thin resume. The result is that we've spent four years in his on-the-job-training gig and he's finally up to speed. Every bold political strategy he's tried has failed and now he's back to traditional politics - and I don't mean that as a criticism, but as a compliment. If you look at some of the major progressive achievements of the last fifty years, such as MediCare, Civil Rights Act, and Americans with Disabilities Act, they were all brought to fruition by traditional, not idealistic, politicians who managed to put together a wide coalition. I'm pretty sure Hillary can do this, and I'm only a little less sure that Obama can do this. But in Obama's case, there's just less proof that he can. I heard a saying recently - "in this life, charm lasts about fifteen minutes; after that you better bring something else to the table."
It's truly a quandary for those who want a change of direction in national policy. Obama's transformational idea is attractive because it could evaporate traditional obstruction. But it might prove unrealistic. Clinton's realpolitik approach might be what is needed and would work. But it might instead get bogged down in rancorous political fighting.
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