Readers, we are now within 24 hours of Primary Day in North Carolina. You most likely already know that Hillary Clinton has closed the gap with Barack Obama in the state (thanks, Rev. Wright!) and now, according to latest polls, has the spread down to single digits.

Today we have a special treat: Jim, an Obama supporter from North Carolina with whom I exchanged e-mails regarding one of my previous columns, has agreed to provide us with his personal insights ahead of the primary tomorrow. (Note: Supporters of other candidates are welcome to write, as well.) As you read his comments, keep in mind that Jim was a sometimes-activist in college and has been “pretty much a straight-line Democrat” since. “I feel strongly that logic and science should be our guidelines whereas Republicans seem to be driven solely by emotions and shallow observations,“ he writes.

Jim is also a walking contradiction; or, as he says, “Like many people, those who don’t know me can easily stereotype me, but then the labels fall off when you get a little closer.“ Jim is an “old-time liberal and advocate for gun control who has also been a member of the NRA; a self-described atheist, he says he is also one of the most honest people you would ever find in business and sales (real estate). He is “completely at odds with the politics of the Realtors” but has served as president of his local chapter of Realtors; he supports capital punishment “in some cases” but also says he is “the biggest cry baby you ever saw in an orphanage.“

“Hell, I confuse myself,“ he says—and in that way, he is representative of so many Americans, who believe the lie that they are alone in thinking neither party really represents them. They trudge to the polls—or not—to cast lukewarm votes for the least of the evils, their frustration with the system pervasive, their alienation from their government ever-increasing.

Jim is evidence that they are not alone.

Without further ado, here are his comments:

We live in Fayetteville (moved here eleven months ago), so close to Fort Bragg that our entire house shakes when they start artillery practice, and we are surrounded by officers as neighbors. As you would expect, soldiers are not commonly going to go on the record about politics. But, under their breath, the officers commonly let it slip that they see the present administration as a ship of fools, and they sure as hell don’t want ten or one hundred more years of same-old-same-old.
   
The enlisted men are more likely to be the Reds. For example, we found a table for sale on Craigslist and met the medic-seller who came back from over there with the old Vietnam attitude: “Kill ‘em all; let god sort them out.“ He said that America should not care one whit about what the rest of the world thinks of it. Now there is a damned fool, and we are the losers since he represents a large group of uber-patriots. My poor wife had never met anyone so openly bloodthirsty so she was genuinely shaken.
We have Obama signs in all of our windows and no one has given us any negative feedback. A refrigerator repairman came over last week, and proved to be one of those rare people who will talk politics with a stranger. He let it be known right off that he thought George H.W. Bush was “too liberal,“ and this here Obama had too much of a Muslim background, and so on. I good-humoredly told him that Obama had no more ties to Muslims than anyone else he knew, but I didn’t expect to get through to someone whose only source of “news” is some radio show of right wing indoctrination (doesn’t the right ever admire the “whole truth?“).
He went on with his views, including how unhappy he is with McCain, who is also too liberal for him, and then he noticed with a laugh that I was wearing one big Obama button on my shirt. I actually enjoyed the exchange…he was jocular…and I have often thought about writing him a detailed response, but I have become somewhat resigned to the idiocy that permeates America. In fact, I left America after Bush was “re-elected” to live in the Philippines, but the corruption there made America look like a nation of goody-two-shoes, so the wife and I returned to live a quiet life of dissent.
We went to the Obama initial organizing rally several weeks ago, where 200 or so people crammed into a room without a breeze to cheer and share their hope that this ship will return to a wiser and saner course.
Years ago I thought that I would be delighted to see Hillary in the White House, even if I found her to be less than appealing in some ways, but now I don’t think I could vote for her under any circumstances. Her present campaign has proven that she cares a lot more about her personal status than whether or not the Dems reclaim the White House. She says she is doing Obama a favor, as a rationalization for doing everything she can to make him look inept. If she had focused on policy, I would not find her so horrible but now I see why so many people have mistrusted her raw ambition over the years.
Don’t hesitate to write and inquire. I’m semi-retired with lots of time to write (I’ve written three books so the fingers are facile). Yes, I am trying to remain optimistic that this intelligent and decent Obama will soon be our leader for eight years, and that this country will recover and lead the world to a much healthier life, but honestly I have to wonder if it isn’t too late. The greedy and/or thoughtless actions of the majority of Americans have gone on for so long that this environmental mess may be like a major car wreck…you survive but lose three limbs and an eye, and sometimes wish you had died.
We can blame our mess on our leaders, but SUV owners and their ilk have chosen these leaders so we have no one to blame but ourselves (I have to wonder if my fellow liberals and environmentalists could have been more effective, but I fear that the self-interests of most people would have made us ineffective with almost any approach).
I tell my friends that I would like to live another 100 years if just to see if any of the greedy and thoughtless types ever show any remorse. But, as Seinfeld might say, “Not bloody likely.“