Some things I am noticing

I'ved lived in Florida since 2002.

In the last election, I saw bumperstickers and yard signs for Bush EVERYWHERE I looked. I've seen one McCain/Palin sign and no bumperstickers. People are being really quiet about their votes this year. Not much good-natured/bad-natured/otherwise political talk, compared to four years ago. I'm sensing a serious malaise among Republicans. I'm not saying McCain's not going to get votes, surely he will, but there isn't the arragant pride in being a Republican this year. Something palpable has changed. I sense shame and embarrasment and rightly so. They were all so proud of Bush 4 years ago. And look at him. Look at that miserable speech this morning.

I did talk to one woman who said she wouldn't ever vote for Obama because he won't wear a flag pin and he wants to change the National Anthem. I didn't bother wasting my time, cause if your vote is by that kind of criteria, what on earth can you say?

Oh, and that one lonely McCain/Palin sign? It is on the house just across the street from me. ONE sign. That's all.

But I've encouraged folks to vote and am even taking some voter registration forms to work tomorrow. Because one guy told me today that it was too late to register. I found out for him that it is not, registration closes this Monday. The office for registering is open on Saturday this week. Hell, maybe I'll drive him there.

But I'm starting to feel quietly encouraged, because, by golly, they are quiet.

(and one of those big rear window signs) and NO (repeat NO) McCain stickers. However, I've passed dozens of Ron Paul yard signs (no bumper stickers).

Near Jacksonville.

It's surprising, really.

Some random oddball horned in on a conversation I was having with the cashier, and the guy kept talking to me as I walked outside. He started mentioning how he was disappointed that Obama wasn't asked about George Soros at the debate.

"But it was a debate about foreign policy," I said.

"That guy is from Europe!" he replied.

I got a kick out of that.

in central Maryland. I'm in a red county within a very blue state. But I haven't seen hardly any bumper stickers at all this time, OR yard signs... maybe 3 so far. And that's vastly different from years past.

We went through pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, alabama and ended up near fort walton beach. I was counting stickers. Bob took my magnet off before we entered alabama because he was afraid we'd have troubles. he put it back on when we got back to tennessee on our way back up to new york. but i saw about two or three obama stickers in all that time. i saw two mccain stickers and a mccain yard sign. and i saw in florida a worker at the medical center (which had valet parking!!) with an obama pin on her hat.

when bob was putting our magnet back on my car at the rest stop in tennessee, an african american older gentleman smiled. bob explained to him that there are a lot of messed up people in the south. the gentleman said there are a lot up north too. bob told him he could handle the people up north.

bob apologized to me for taking it off, but i told him it was ok. i understood why he did it. it's crazy that in america people are so against different ideas. i thought that was what this country was supposed to be about. respect has been missing for some time in this country. and it saddens me. i hope we can get back some semblance of what we had aspired to be after mr. bush leaves in january.

and yeah, it was pretty rough after being in the Seattle area. We moved there right during the 2000 campaign and people just assumed EVERYONE voted for bush. I only found ONE Gore yard sign - I wanted to ring their bell and hug them LOL! The other thing is people introduce themselves by name/church - it was weird. We just smiled and didn't answer if they asked which church we went to.