Long Conversations Inside the Front Door

The last two days I have been invited in quite a bit by my canvassing friends. (And no, it's not by hot, young U of I co-eds; they all seem to still be on winter break. Take that Obama!)

More and more, I'm invited in because these people have not made up their minds, and they want to talk. I mean with a capital "T". I spent 20-30 minutes helping a young mother see why Obama talks a nice talk but is naive/mis-informed about how to get things done (See Paul Krugman article linked below: "Big Table Myth") and how Hillary is a corporate shill and dangerously unelectable, while her toddler looked on and her Siamese cat climbed my leg. Seriously, despite the fact that campaigns have been hassling these people for a YEAR, they haven't decided. I suppose it's a sign of the quality of the candidate pool.

I am never dogmatic, but I let them know why I'm supporting Edwards. There is no spin from me. I lead them through my thought process from the root of our governments problems (un-mediated greed from business combined with politicians who need more and more money to compete with 30 second TV ads) to the progressive/populist solutions (advocated by Obama and Edwards) to the one candidate who wants to play hardball (Edwards) rather than sing sweetly a siren's song of bi-partisanship (Obama). To drive the nail in, I mention electability.

For more on the False God of Bi-partisanship, read my post below.

Anyhow, I've been having long conversations with people willing to listen, and it's awesome. I can't caucus and try to convince my neighbors on election night, so this is the next best thing.

The more homes I visit, the more I think this will indeed be decided on caucus night. The big three are close in just about every poll. It will all come down to how well those individual precinct captains fight over the delegates for the non-viable candidates. (A candidate has to have at least 15% of the vote in each precinct to be viable, so most people supporting Dodd, Biden, and Richardson will have to go for someone else.) I think the Edwards argument is clear and sensible. I think it will win the day.