A couple of months ago I wrote a diary about a died-in-the-wool conservative friend of mine from Ohio who's become an Obama convert. He's been my best friend for 3 decades, and we've always argued passionately from opposite sides of the political spectrum. I'm having a hard time grasping the depth of his conversion.
We were talking yesterday about the Rev. Wright controversy, and he told me about a co-worker who confessed her fear of Obama, and what a black president might mean for America. He tried to engage her in discussion, and she spouted all the talk-show talking points about radical black politics and culture, anchored by references to inner-city violence in their town. My friend kind of joked to her, "what, are you afraid Obama's going to wear his suit pants low on his hips and bring a bunch of gang-bangers into the white house?" But her fear, as ignorant as it was, was real.
So today, my friend drops me an email. He watched the speech and was really impressed. Knowing it'll be skewed by Limbaugh and Fox for conservative consumption, he invited his coworker into his office to watch the speech on YouTube...
Now, regardless of his coworker's reaction, at this point I'm already doing a reality check. This is a guy who cheered Ken Starr and enshrined Gringrich's Contract with America. Needless to say, he was a big Bush supporter and a Gore and Kerry basher. Now he's not just voting for Obama, he's ~evangelizing~. And according to his email, his co-worker "got" Obama's speech.
Yes, I know. I can already hear the negative choir from my last post--that this is some imaginary friend, and this is all made up. I have to say, it seems highly unlikely to me as well. But it is true. The world is turning upside down.
What's happening is a reflection of something a lot deeper than words, and I have to admit, I don't really understand it. After years of hardcore conservative devotion, what is really at the core of conversions like this, and how big is it?