sharing a soliliquy - a personal blog of shawnz
Another example of a mom being swayed by her kids is Caroline Kennedy. She
…talked about how her three teenagers are big Obama fans, and Senator Kennedy spoke of President Kennedy’s commitment to youth public service as well as Mr. Obama’s dedication to the fight against global warming.
Follow that link to see the great photography of the Obama event today, as he reaches into the crowd to shake some hands.
I must say the most impressive thing about Obama’s victory last name is that his strategy of bringing new voters to the booths is really paying off. And by large, those voters are young people and independents. It is rare for a mainstream candidate to tape into this pool, particularly of the young voters.
In 2000, that demographic was squarely for Ralph Nader, behind a quixotic and symbolic campaign against corporate control of the legislative and executive powers. In 2004, a smaller and less zealous group of 18 to 24 year olds supported Bill Bradley in his quest to be the Democratic candidate. Finally, in 2008, those voices, now in far greater magnitude, have a mainstream candidate. Its the first time I’ve seen it in my relatively tiny election experience, and its quite heartening.
Where the kids go, so too, the parents… Two weeks ago, my home state senator, Claire McCaskill -MO endorsed Obama because of her belief in the “urgency of now.” But beyond her own belief, she was influenced by her daughter:
One other factor in her decision: a lobbying effort mounted by her oldest daughter.”At the to urging of my 18 year old daughter …. I could not sit in the bleachers any longer. I felt like I had to get down on the field,” McCaskill said in a conference call with reporters.
And then today, in an announcement following the Nevada debate, Maria Elana Durazo, head of the Los Angeles County federation, endorsed Obama with a similar appeal. This, from her 18 year old son:
When she discussed her endorsement with her son Michael, a senior at Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, he urged her to choose Obama.
“He said, ‘In the end, Mom, it’s the chance of a lifetime.’ For him to say that means a lot. It’s true.” I’d be interested to see if kids in the 60’s had the chance to influence their parents in this way — or was there too much of a divide? Also, what can we say about these women who are listening to their kids. Is this a different dynamic now that we have more female elected officers? Either way, all of this looks to be a positive movement. Listen to the kids, and we’ll be allright. . .
i’m beginning the internet draft movement for mccain to tap obama as his running mate after he wins the nomination. i’m not totally giving up on obama’s chances, but it looks tight, and the clinton team is alienating so many people outside the core democratic party zebras, there seems to be no other choice. . .