Stateside With Rosalea: Fright Night

Missed the second presidential debate, didn't I. A visitor had just arrived from the old home sod and the last thing on earth she wanted to look at was George W. Bush and John Kerry. So, after a brief, muted glimpse of the scene on the telly, we turned it off and nattered over the teacups instead.

However, later in the evening when I went to the supermarket I heard a very surprising evaluation of the event. Surprising because my supermarket is in the heart of hearts of anti-Bush territory. Surprising because it came from a demographic not usually associated with supporting Republicans: African American working class.

I was in the fruit and vegetable section and the guy filling up the shelves asked me if I'd seen the debate on TV. No, I said. Well, he'd heard it on the radio on his way to work and he was surprised at how strongly Bush had come across. In the first debate, the greengrocer said, Bush had been weak, but in this second one his performance was so different it was like he was on brain steroids.

Perhaps he was in a setting he was more comfortable with, I suggested. Whatever the cause, Bush came across as decisive and forceful and knowledgeable to this particular greengrocer, who seemed to be almost contemplating giving Bush a first look. Perhaps all those folks here in California who are phoning undecided and Green voters in other parts of the country should be looking closer to home as well.

Website of the week:
http://www.garlicandgrass.org/

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