Republicans Stand for Obama

A few months ago, a friend of mine was visiting me, when I received my Obama gear in the post. "What is an arch-conservative like you doing with a liberal like Barack Obama?" he asked, when he caught me trying to smuggle the items away so he wouldn't see. "How can you support a man who doesn't think like you?" he went on. I didn't see that coming, so I had not prepared a come-back. "If you listen to him, you would vote for him", I said calmly. "In that case I don't want to listen to anything he has to say" he responded. He would even cover his ears with his hands whenever I brought up Obama. Unfortunately, he got tired of holding his hands to his ears, and he's now an Obama freak.

Let me be upfront: I'm an Evangelical conservative; I believe life begins at conception and I abhor abortion. I admire George Bush. I love his charisma, his compassionate and family-oriented approach to immigration and I love how people fool themselves that he's stupid. I supported the use of force against Iraq and believed American troops should stay in Iraq for the long-term and finish the job. I bashed Nancy Pelosi for meeting with Ahmed Bashir, I believed Iran is messing with the United States and that everything and anything should be on the table to stop them. My friends and I would make fun of liberals, and call them immoral people trying to contaminate our values. I was homophobic, trusted only Fox News and treated myself to a bit of Imus, Limbaugh and Coulter. How could I possibly support Obama?

Such is the ideological gridlock and partisan squabbling America has found itself in. The punditry on both sides is only too eager to divide America into red and blue and anyone who reaches across the aisle is accused of being too conciliatory. That's the junk I've been fed for decades. It is unlikely that this will change if the greatest democracy in the world endorses dynasticism or if the choice in this election comes down to two polarizing, pugnacious 'cowboys'