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FeatsofClay
09-09-2008, 01:34 PM
I just got off the phone from wishing my maternal grandmother a happy 89th birthday. She asked what I thought of the election and I mumbled vaguely and asked what she thought. SHE WENT OFF!

A few excerpts (Best I can do from memory):

On Palin- "I watched that Palin lady and her speech. She seemed nice and her kids are so cute. But to be a governor she has to be a bit of a bitch. Why don't they let her show that side. We have tried everything else, maybe someone needs to be a bitch to some of these other countries and the congress. G down and bitch them and like a mother should. Maybe some spanking for some of them, too!"

Also on Palin- "Folks keep saying she has only been a governor in Alaska. They say not many people live there. I used to run two divisions at Murphy's and they were on opposite sides of the store. Try running somehting where everybody is spread out, it is harder than running a lot of people in one place. Alaska may not have many people but it is big. It is really big. And nobody wants to gie her credit for that!"

On McCain- "McCain used to seem so, you know, have energy. Now he always seems like he is trying not to say the wrong thing. I used to look at him speak and think of John Wayne or one of those men who were sexy and strong before everyone in Hollywood was gay or skinny or both. Now he doesn't have a swagger. Even old men are sexy when they have that swagger."

On Obama- "He is sary. You can tell when he talks. But he is so young. We are looking for a good principal for the local high school and I SO wish we could get him. That is where smart, young people belong. Trying make more smart, young people. If he could do that right for another 10 years or so I would vote for him then. And it isn't because he is black. People don't mind a black man when he is that good looking and speaks clearly. And he is a good looking man! Don't tell your sister I said that, she would be mortified."

On Biden- "He always seesm to be a-smilin' like he knows something you don't. I had a cook like that in my restaurant once. I told him- 'You work for me. No matter how smart you are you make it work for me or I will send you home.' I wish I could say that to that fella."

A small look inside a middle America voter with no cable or internet or such. For those it entertains. :)

For the record, her voting since I have paid attention has been Reagan, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Clinton, Bush. She hasn't been wrong on the winner in my conscious political life. Asked who she would vote for this time she responded "Mark, I may not vote this time. It would be the first vote I missed since Truman. These people aren't talking about real stuff, just jabber, jabber, jabber. I wouldn't make a meal for any of them. Except Sunday, have to feed anyone who shows up on Sunday."


:tongue:

Name Lips
09-09-2008, 01:57 PM
Mixed in with the crazy old lady talk there's a lot of shrewd observations in there.

McCain used to seem so, you know, have energy. Now he always seems like he is trying not to say the wrong thing.
McCain HAS changed, and that is just about the best summary of it that I've heard. He's losing sight of himself in his relentless drive to win the presidency. He's forgotten what McCain is really like in his efforts to be a McCain everybody else will like, and it's sapped something vital from him.

He always seesm to be a-smilin' like he knows something you don't.
Biden is a hardball, old-school politician. I do get a bit of arrogance from him, like he knows the ins and outs of Washington and is supremely confident of his abilities. He knows how to say exactly the right thing, how to look exactly the right way... But you never see what's underneath. That's probably why he didn't get very far in his own presidental campaign - he has a hard time connecting with people and broadcasting charisma.


But he is so young. We are looking for a good principal for the local high school and I SO wish we could get him. That is where smart, young people belong. Trying make more smart, young people. If he could do that right for another 10 years or so I would vote for him then.
Obama WAS a teacher, cranking out smart young people for 12 years. She's right that he'd make a helluva good principal. I also think he'd make a helluva good president - but it's true that he hasn't had much of a chance to accumulate real-world wisdom. Most of his political knowledge is theoretical, academic. That's what turns off a lot of people about him - he knows the right things because he's studied them, not because he's experienced them. And people who are leery of "academics" in the first place are very leery about this. I'm willing to trust this because I respect academics and the smart, sharp people that live in universities. I trust that they can apply years of theory to real-world situations. But I guess not all people have that sort of trust.

FeatsofClay
09-09-2008, 02:03 PM
Mixed in with the crazy old lady talk there's a lot of shrewd observations in there.



You forgot to add that she is cute and cooks well. :)

Name Lips
09-09-2008, 02:04 PM
You forgot to add that she is cute and cooks well. :)

Does she give good head? :tongue:

FeatsofClay
09-09-2008, 02:15 PM
Does she give good head? :tongue:

Well, she is short and has removable teeth. I have also seen an attention to detail and willingness to please others. So I am going to have to go with-

"How dare you ask this of me! How dare? I am her grandson! Her family! Of course I think she gives good head."

Go ask an impartial source if you want the truth!

AZRogue
09-09-2008, 03:27 PM
My experiences with my relatives has been similar. Not exact, but very similar. They don't all agree on anything, either. Though the show I was watching last night on CNN where they examine Palin's Assembly of God church with an overall tone that they're off the deep end pissed off my mom and maternal grandmother. They say the same prayers that they showed Palin making.

Your grandmother not voting is also similar. Several of my great-uncles and aunts have said they're not voting because they think ALL the candidates are corrupt. Evidence doesn't matter, they believe it pretty firmly.

Frankly, I'm about ready to start supporting some resolution where we disallow ANYONE to hold public office if anyone in their immediate family has held office during the past decade. Force some turnover.

PWD
09-09-2008, 03:34 PM
Wasn't that one of the ideas behind citizen assembly anyhow? Career politicians let along political families weren't what the founders had in mind, I'm sure.

AZRogue
09-09-2008, 03:56 PM
Wasn't that one of the ideas behind citizen assembly anyhow? Career politicians let along political families weren't what the founders had in mind, I'm sure.

I know that I believe they weren't. Career politicians, in my mind, are the source of countless ills. Too much effort spent on keeping power and ensuring power will stay with your family. A true citizen assembly would be a dream, for me personally.

Merganser
09-09-2008, 05:03 PM
I know that I believe they weren't. Career politicians, in my mind, are the source of countless ills. Too much effort spent on keeping power and ensuring power will stay with your family. A true citizen assembly would be a dream, for me personally.

Oh don't worry. Athens had career politicians and political families too.