I love my grandfather Charles Speidel. He was a successful business man and then in retirement a dedicated amatuer photographer. Our family vacations are better documented than either Bush presidency. I think that much of my obsession with photography grows from his influence on me. Charlie has been the light of many parties, is always a pleasure to talk to but he and I never, ever talked about politics.
For his entire life my grandfather has voted a straight Republican ticket. He says that he "occasionally" would throw a democrat into the mix, but for most of the 60 plus years he's been voting Republican. That is an amazing record.
This morning when Charlie went into the voting booth he voted a straight Democratic ticket for the first time, EVER. I asked him why and his answer came down to McCain's choice of running mate. It seems that he is concerned with the people John McCain is surrounding himself with.
I think it is a measure of how far to the extreme right the Republican party has swung that a reasonable conservative like my grandfather votes for a democratic president for the first time. But I still doubt that we will talk about politics much.
Barack and Roll!
-Stephen Alvarez

OLD WHITE GUYS FOR OBAMA!!
Posted by: sewaneechickens | November 05, 2008 at 11:43 AM