The Importance of Toughness- at least to Republicans

One of the most intriguing parts of attending the DNC convention was the time spent on public buses. Traveling from the Motel 6 in the outskirts of Denver, gave us the unique opportunity to be with the locals. Next to my friend and me sat workers with sack lunches, students with backpacks and mothers with grocery bags. When I travel in other towns on vacation, I politely sit quietly and wait for my stop. Covered in Obama/Change buttons, it was obvious we were here for the convention.

We could barely sit down before someone would give us thumbs up or say Go Obama! Some would just shake their head or complain about the detoured bus route because of the convention. It wouldn’t take long to figure out who was a Republican. We discussed healthcare and the pros and cons of universal coverage with a lab tech. When a 20 year-old parroted the republican spin of no experience, we Illinoisans had to tell him of how proud we were of Obama’s accomplishments.

Still on a high following Obama’s speech, we loaded the bus on Friday morning. We sat near the front of the bus because we were unsure of the stop for the Presidential Museum. The bus driver seemed to be compelled to talk. He said he was exhausted because he drove a bus following last night’s events and didn’t finish until 2 AM.

He opened the bus door with his large forearm to let in a man balancing with the cane. He just had to talk about Obama. He prefaced his statements with, “I was raised as a Southern Baptist and my family has always been Republican. But that Bush is a stupid shit!” I knew I had my opening.

He explained that last night the buses were all parked outside the stadium. Loud speakers were placed so those that couldn’t get in could still listen to the convention. So the bus drivers, whether they wanted to or not, had to hear Obama. He admitted that he really hadn’t listened to Obama speak before but had heard some things about him (probably on Hannity’s program). But he added, “I think I like Obama.”

“Guess what the 2 issues are that make me a Republican?” As he waited for my guesses, he told the man with the strong Indian accent that his stop would be 2 more blocks.

“Guns and abortion” I guessed.

“You have one of them right—Abortion and gay marriage.”

“Did you hear Obama say that it’s all our goal to have less abortions?” I added, “Can you believe that there has been more abortions since Bush has been in office than when Clinton was president?”

He braked at the red light and turned and looked at me in disbelief.

I moved on to his second Republican spin point. “As a liberal, I have to admit I wish Obama would say he was for Gay marriage. Did you hear him say that gays should have equal rights under the law?” I added a personal story to give emphasis to Obama’s statement. “My sister’s gay friend was in intensive care in the hospital. The hospital wouldn’t let her gay partner visit because only family members were allowed.”

His mouth opened but recovered to say, “I didn’t know that!”

The driver cranked the large steering wheel to the left as I turned the conversation back to Obama. “What did you like about Obama last night?”

“He is really smart! He had good ideas for America and he talked tough to McCain. Yeah that is what I liked the best. He talked tough to McCain."
______
Out of the mouths of Republicans—everyone wants toughness Obama campaign. Democrats want toughness and even Republicans respect toughness. Time to go to it.