Business has taken OS to a part of the country he hasn't visited in years, for which he truly and humbly repents in dust and ashes.
It is utterly, breathtakingly beautiful here. Words fail. The poet who penned 'America the Beautiful' caught it best: '..purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.'
These folks know how to eat, and the local wines and beers are every bit as good as rumors describe them. OS will be back, with the lovely, sainted, and longsuffering Mrs. OS at his side next time. (He still doesn't understand why she tolerates, much less loves, OS.)
One item did surprise him, however. This has a reputation, on both sides of the Columbia River, for being a Blue State area. OS did see one 'Obama 2012' bumper sticker on the several hundred cars he encountered. He avoided speaking of politics, 'cuz a good house guest doesn't bring it up, or religion either. His hosts did, however, and they were good people he expected would be loyal Democrat voters. The only choice they now ponder is which of the GOP candidates would serve the country best.
They are still in a bit of a fog, and the prospect of Rick Perry is worrisome (which shows they have good instincts). Still unsure of Romney, but of all people, Herman Cain does hold their interest, as a person who knows how to run businesses and manage people. A grown-up who can do math.
It is beautiful here, but it is obvious the economy here is ailing seriously. Houses can't sell, because home values have dropped 30-40%, and show no sign of recovering. Foreclosures everywhere, which aren't clearing, and many more in the pipeline. Banks won't lend into a deflating market, even though they are bearing the costs of maintaining the houses they foreclosed. As one person familiar with the situation said: 'If you walk in with cash, you are golden.' OS asked him what it will take to turn it around, and all he could say was 'Time', and 'God's in charge, He'll do something on his timetable.' This guy won't be pulling the lever for Obama again, either, here in this blue-blue-blue-blue state.
Most unexpected. Most surprising aspect of the visit. But if OS sees this anecdotally, someone amongst the polling pros for the Dems have got to be seeing it as well.
Obama cannot win, he has passed the point of no return. The only question that remains is if he will run, and how much damage he'll leave behind to clean up.
No comments:
Post a Comment