You might be surprised by how many otherwise normal everyday Americans have been seduced by the Anointed One and plan to vote for him in Nov. I have been stunned by the pro-Obama and bitterly anti-Bush letters to the editorial pages of the local paper here in this historically Republican/conservative county in north GA. This county went almost 2-1 for Bush both times he ran, but if the anti-GOP mood I am seeing in many local people these days who have been Republican voters in the past is as prevalent and widespread as it appears to be the county could very well go to Obamessiah.
I'm not worried at this point that Obama could carry the entire state, but I am disgusted that the local people who have fared quite well under Bush's administration would fall for the crapola of a slick empty suit like Obama. There are very few AfroAmericans, less than 200 IIRC, compared to around 26,000 whites living in this north GA county that isn't in the cotton belt and was pro-union, anti-slavery during the civil war, so race isn't a factor here in the antipathy toward Bush and Republicans in general this year
The clincher is my second observation in that not even the Clintonistas are gonna vote for Obama.
I live in the South in a place that usually goes GOP (to the extent that Dems usually change parties here when they run for local office, or otherwise they wouldn’t have a chance). I started working at the McCain campaign office, and I have been heartened by the number of Dems who have come in to ask for bumper stickers or to contribute because they are appalled by the idea of voting for the nutcase Obama. So that’s good.
But if you looked at our newspaper or walked the streets, you’d think the town was a hot-bed of left-wing Dems. This is partly because they are much more aggressive, and write absolutely vicious letters to the paper (I’m surprised some of them even get published) and stand on the street corners waving offensive anti-Bush signs, and partly because they are much better organized. The Obama campaign has been active here for months; the GOP headquarters just opened and we don’t even have bumper stickers or yard signs to give people.
I think a lot of it is because the GOP got overconfident and careless in certain traditionally conservative areas. And some of it is attributable to the fact that the Dems have changed and the radical wing of their party has become respectable and even the norm. I’m amazed at how many middle-class grannies there are (many from the Northeast, of course) out there wearing black MoveOn.org tee shirts and screaming obscenities about Bush and our troops at their weekly “demonstration” on our plaza. To some extent, I think this has taken traditional GOP conservatives by surprise and given the Dems an advantage.