Obama forces the pace of change in Dixieland

[cal04]

Some are beginning to talk of it as the second American revolution. States that have been the spiritual home of the modern Republican party are now within reach of the Democrats. It is a result of shifts in the region's economy and population - and of the huge sums the Obama campaign has poured in as McCain falters
Paul Harris in North Carolina, The Observer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/oct/19/obama-democrats-carolina-charlotte

Downtown Charlotte looks like the ultimate modern American city. Towering, glass-clad skyscrapers shoot into the blue North Carolina sky and it is hard to find a building that looks more than a few decades old. Sipping a Starbucks coffee in a city park is Tim Cable, 41, who worked as a consultant with the financial firms that have made this the biggest banking centre in America outside New York. It is a very different scene from the stereotypical southern image of rednecks, pick-up trucks and dusty towns. But then again, so are Cable's politics.

'I am voting for Obama,' he says. 'I decided that more than a year ago.' More surprisingly, Cable thinks the Democratic candidate could win North Carolina in the November election. That would turn this red state blue, and perhaps herald a huge change in American politics. 'Places like Charlotte are changing the face of the South,' Cable said.

It is no pipe dream. In a potentially momentous shift, Obama's campaign to become America's first black President has made remarkable strides in the South. He has built up a firm lead in Virginia, which has not voted for a Democrat for President since 1964. He has opened up a narrow gap in North Carolina and is ahead in Florida. Across Dixieland, from Texas to Kentucky to the Carolina coast, Republican stalwarts are running up against a surging tide of Democratic party support.

Obama's campaign has opened scores of offices across the South, often outnumbering the Republicans on their own turf. John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, have been forced to campaign here, diverting them from the battleground of Ohio and Pennsylvania.

[electionwatcher]

1. It would be great .......

.... if North Carolina turns blue on Election Night!

[HillbillyBob]

4. We pray it be so! I live in rural Caswell county NC

We have talked up Obama, the mess our economy is in, the spending like a drunken sailor on 3 day liberty on unjust wars. Off hand our republican middle class neighbor and his wife have taken to calling him McSame or Mcinsane, not to mention the bailout and any number of crappy tings that Booshco (rhymes with the whoosh of a flush)and his minions, the mess in the Judicial and Justice departments, &tc.
They would be facing foreclosure if they had a house loan as both lost jobs. If they and we did not have gardens we all would be in way worse shape.
I had 3 ladies in Danville Va see the Vets for Obama sticker and tell me they are republicans and will be voting for Obama, one has a son in Iraq second tour.
For the good of our citizens and our nation We Must Win this one.
So many other countries have lost faith in us and the US.
This saddens me beyond what I can say. I saw the slide start when RonnyRaygun won.
When he relaxed the rules on the Savings and Loans and killed PATCO, I was in the navy training in Air Traffic control expecting to come out when my tour was up to a decent living.
Thanks pukes! I have spent the time since working 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet, never enough
to have time to go to school, the bills have to be paid the kids have to eat.
I could not even use my GI bill.

[ShenandoahAspen]

2. I live in NC and...

...will do my part to make sure NC turns BLUE next month!

[mmonk]

3. We're working on it here in NC.