During a recent pizza dinner (fyi Clevelanders: Mama Santas), I asked our server to whom she was giving her support in the Presidential election. Her interesting reply: "I'm trying to vote for Obama." "Trying," I asked? She went on that she was "pretty good" with McCain until his picked Palin as VP. It was then that she had begin to "try" to vote Obama. She said she was worried most specifically about healthcare. But the "trying" to vote for Obama indicated-to me-something a lot deeper.
We proceeded to eat our pizza all the while having a conversation with our server about issues in general but the two candidates' health care plans in particular.
McCain: Tax credits. Tax on Health Benefits.
Obama: Keep your current plan w/choice of doctor, or participate in Federal Employee Plan and prevent insurance companies from locking you out for pre-existing condition. (Very simplified. But we're talking "talking points", here)
But more important, we incorporated these two talking points:
1) If the U.S. constitution guarantees to even the most egregious criminal a proper legal defense, should not every American child be guaranteed a physician?
and
2) If you needed a physician expert to cure a dreaded illness, would you ask the color of the physician's skin? If you're flying in an airplane, do you care the color of the pilot's skin?
The United States is a sick patient that needs a good physician to help with its cure.
The United States is a giant airplane filled with 300 million citizens.
The United States needs a careful, thoughtful and serious pilot to navigate all 300 million of us into a safe and secure-in-every-way-future.
We loved our pizza and our server "ate up" our analogies. We finished our pizza and as we left the restaurant, our server was nodding her head in agreement with us!
Now, you have to talk to your servers and any others you may meet who are "working on their vote". Good Luck and GObama!
1 comment:
Wow, great material! I am meeting with a group of Obama volunteers tonight and will surely share your analogies. They clearly put to rest much apprehension that some have due to skin color. How 1950's of them! The tide has changed here on Miami Beach and I think between the latest nightly news, Barack's presidential behavior and his knowledge and plans during the debates, we are several steps closer to the White House. Four weeks to go and there's little time for the republican machine to escape the mess of the past eight years and seperate Mccain from GWB. Don't even get me started on the mistake of putting Sarah on the ticket, but it's almost as if they want to lose as the challege ahead is so great. Back to us! Go Obama and thank you Susan for helping so many understand there is only one candidate for REAL change.
Kisses from the beach,
Ray
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