Friday, August 22, 2008

Tales from the Campaign 1

Encounter 1:
Fifty-something, white woman, supervisor of elections for a small, rural county in Georgia. I am in her office and she finally directly asks me which campaign I am on. I show her my shirt, to which she replies that she is probably going to vote for Obama. She says she doesn't like McCain and DEFINITELY won't vote for him. "But if Huckabee had won I would be voting for him. I really like Huckabee." Then when we talk VP candidates she says that if Sam Nunn would have been the candidate she definitely would have voted for him! This woman was all over in her preferences.

Encounter 2:
I am basically ran out of clean clothes, so I decide that my dad's old cowboy shirt (brown and blue) will have to do for today. I put my little button on my chest as always though. I head to lunch at a burrito place and when I am paying the mid-twenties white guy messes up my change. I mention it and he says "I was just making sure you were paying attention." The other early twenties white guy who actually made my burrito leans over to his coworker and says "Look at the button on his shirt: he IS paying attention."

Encounters 3,4,5:
I pull into a gas station to clean up the evidence of a week of eating out. It's raining, but I am covered, and its 11:00 pm. The black womanl in the booth: thought she registered a few months ago, but never got her card. Registration 1. Another black woman comes up for gas: she has moved since she registered. Registration 2. Another black woman comes up to pay for her gas: she doesn't vote, never has registered, doesn't care to do it. I tell her it's important to me because I don't want my brother to be in danger in Iraq again. Registration 3.

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