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Posted
Tuesday, November 04, 2008 1:36 PM
| By
Melinda Henneberger
There have been times, yes, when I've felt like the corniest living American. But, oh, this is not one of those times. Suddenly, here come e-mails even from normally non-woo-woo quarters, sharing Obama-related stories of people coming together and feeling great about it, like they were not only thirsty but had forgotten what water was. My favorite: A gentlemanly McCain supporter in Ohio offers his XL Dale Earnhardt jacket to three XS elderly Jewish ladies so they can vote despite having shown up in forbidden Obama T-shirts—and they not only bond but win his vote without ever asking for it. Others tell of African-Americans taking photos of their deceased parents into the booth with them, and a former Freedom Rider who cannot believe this day has come. In Santa Monica, my friend who is wearing her lucky Indiana Motor Speedway shirt while dialing undecided Hoosiers reports enjoying even those "long, cordial conversations'' that do not end in conversion experiences. A certain husband who in 24 years has never sniffled at anything other than my Amex bill is beyond misty that Obama's grandma didn't live one more day. And my hands-down most levelheaded friend, Rose, who is a teacher (but no, she's not that "Rose the teacher") writes, "I see a new day dawning after today.'' McCainiacs, beware, or you just might get hugged into submission; we needed this, bless our hearts.
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