Blue State Blues

I live in a blue state in an even more blue county and neighborhood. I am a lifelong Democrat whose friends are almost all Democrats. I haven't talked to anyone who isn't extremely frightened of Sarah Palin and deeply insulted that John McCain thought women were so dumb that they would ignore Palin's extremist views and support her simply because she is a woman. So I've been going about my business in my insulated bubblelike world, feeling 100 percent certain that a McCain presidency would be a disaster and pretty confident, hopeful, and proud that Barack Obama will be our next president.

Occasionally something will pierce my bubble, like the crowd that McCain/Palin drew in also pretty blue Northern Virginia or those pesky polls that show that Obama hasn't pulled away from McCain by much even though most Americans blame the Republicans for the current financial mess. My bubble may have been popped forever on our quick trip to Pennsylvania on Sunday to visit my mom's twin sister. My aunt lives in a red county (and she and her family are Republicans), but I was still taken aback by the level of support for McCain in her area. As we drove around, I counted at least 20 McCain signs, proclaiming Women for McCain and Family for McCain and even Democrats for McCain. I found one lonely Obama sign (I'm very proud of that lone supporter). I wanted to knock on one of those doors and ask how they could claim that McCain is for families or women, but I didn't think the girls would enjoy the interruption to their fun day.

This trip left me depressed as well as ready to act. I'm going to do what I can to help Obama get elected. My daughters' future is at stake.