in the end, i id'ed more supporters for barack obama (combining 2s and 3s) than john mccain's (4s and 5s) in what is normally considered heavily republican winter park, florida.  but it sure didn't feel that way while i was canvassing.  thinking about it now, the obama supporters came in drips, while the mccain supporters were clumped together and made a bigger impression.

just goes to show that even your own impressions aren't always accurate.

getting to the turf -- to winter park from the temporary orlando campaign office -- proved more difficult than expected.  the access street to the first house on my list was cut off.  i could see the first house on palmer, so i walked past the barriers over to the other side and knocked on the first door.  no one home, left our new lit (woo hoo!) and went to the next house.  a lady, 94 years old, in this huge house overseeing a lake, came to the door to greet me.

"have you given any thought to who you are supporting?" i asked.

"obama," she said, in a strong, clear voice.  this is not your father's winter park.

we talked a little about the construction on the street (she liked how quiet it made things), which made me decide that i had to get my car to the other side of the barriers.  but because winter park (and much on inland florida) is sprinkled with lakes, it wasn't going to be easy.  i had to drive 3 miles back to 17-92, five miles up to horatio, and then another 3 miles to via tuscany, driving through neighborhoods in a round about manner, before getting to alabama and then to palmer.  it took me about forty minutes before i got to the next door.

these were not your mcmansions that i saw in west chonchie (pa), but real estates with prominant lake views.  the walks from the street to the front door were often hundreds of yards.  while almost everyone else was not home -- this is the time of year when many floridians flee to the north carolina mountains to escape the heat -- every door got a piece of lit.  one person refused to talk about the election, although he accepted the literature.  he may have been on the phone (i don't specifically recall).

but once i got off palmer, things really picked up!  in the neighborhoods off palmer, i got a great reception, even from those who were supporting mccain.  neighbors of all ages, and political views, were thoroughly encouraging of this kind of voter contact.  i was offered soft drinks (we call them coke down here), bottles of water, beer (three times!  who knew?), and numerous offers to come inside and cool off.  i don't think it was as hot as the prior days, but i didn't knock on their door those days.  people in these ritzy neighborhoods -- many who were republicans but all who believed their neighbors were staunch republicans -- were truly hospitable.  there's no other word to describe it.  even the republican lady who "shooed" me away, did so pleasantly.  "i'm not accepting solicitors today," she said.

i caught one family who was packing for a trip (probably up to the mountains).  the mother of the family took my knock, and hemmed and hawed a little.  "we're republicans," she said -- which i knew.  so i asked my standard question, "should i record you as leaning mccain or strong mccain?" "we're leaning mccain," she admitted.  "that's probably where we will end up." that seems to be the mood of the republican electorate nowadays.

after i had knocked on a few other doors, including their obama supporting (democratic) neighbors, she called me over.  she was talking to someone who had driven up, in the street.  "this is my sister and she's supporting obama," she declared.  "we have lively political discussions every thanksgiving." why she needed to tell me this escapes me.  but people clearly want to talk about this election.  especially in the early rounds of canvassing, we want to give people a voice, let them talk, give us an opening about how to relate to them wrt barack obama.  you want to connect the voter to barack based on what is important to them, and not necessarily what is important to us.  regardless, people want to talk -- well, most of them, anyway.

i ran into several obamacans, registered republicans supporting barack.  one of them wanted to give me the lowdown of his neighbors (i had a democrat who did the same), in this case, he was mostly right.  often, though, they are not.  another one wanted the (obama) shirt off my back.  but they were among the most enthusiastic supporters of obama i talked to yesterday.

at the end of the day, i was walking the areas around the lake.  one home i came upon, the father and son answered.  "strong mccain" the son said loudly.  his father agreed, more half-heartedly.  he offered me a glass of water.  i declined, because i had plenty of fluids with me.  "i love the process," he declared.  "i'll talk to anyone." his 23 year old son was more disgusted.  "damn surfers," he might have thought to himself.  periodically, i did encounter enthused mccain supporters.

but the most vehement republicans i met weren't even on my list.  one door i knocked on, the person on my list had moved.  i duly recorded it -- no reason for anyone to ever return to this house.  his car was filled with bumper stickers, the one that stuck in my mind being "while monica blew, al-qaeda grew." but the other decals were equally strident.  after he closed the door and i was walking away, he came back out -- apparently, he hadn't said his piece.  "i don't know how anyone could think that obama was qualified to be president?" he said.  "i'm pretty sure he's over 35," i replied.  he looked perplexed.  i have to bite my tongue in these situations, because they are only a waste of time.  he repeated, "he's the most unqualified person ever to run for president."

i thought of "abe lincoln" character that seems to run for president every cycle or the guy who hung out in front of howard dean offices in 2004, but i digress.

on that same street, i walked up to three guys drinking beer in the (covered) driveway.  "no, no, not obama," one guy said as i walked up.  "are you _?" i asked.  "no, he's not here," they said collectively.  "would you mind giving this to him when he returns?" i asked.  i gave the lit to the one who held out his hand.  but as i left, i could tell i had sparked a conversation among them.  probably not one i wanted to stick around to listen to.  in a different area (west of lakemont), i had two people who mentioned that they couldn't support a "one world order" candidate -- which absolutely blew my mind.  i suppose this is the knee-jerk response by wingnut radio to obama's trip overseas.  or something.  it was weird to hear two people, one young, one old, who parroted each other.

the last republican i talked to last night was undecided.  it was then i realized that not a single democrat i talked to yesterday in 281 doors was undecided.  many said "probably obama," which i recorded as a 3L (leaning obama) but i doubt they will do anything other than vote for barack.  but all the undecideds i talked to were either republicans or NP (no party identification).  the latter were few and far between.  this in "heavily republican winter park."

this is an area that went disproportionately for hillary -- and she did rather well here in the fundraising department, as well.  but democrats in winter park support barack, and seemingly enthusiastically.  some republicans, too.  there is definitely no signs of PUMA, or the divisiveness that some clinton supporters are trying to dredge up online.  no one's expressing disappointment in barack's votes or failures to concede the race to hillary.  people here seem to feel the history in the making, and are happy to be a part of it.  it's a warm feeling, to go along with a warm afternoon.

i talked to 104 people yesterday, including one person, a libertarian, who unenthusiastically is voting for bob barr.  i had another person tell me that he wasn't voting in this election.  i ended the day with 30 2s (obama supporters), 11 3Ls (leaning obama), 11 undecideds, 10 4s (leaning mccain), 22 5s (supporting mccain) and 1 5B (supporting barr).  in "heavily republican winter park." the winds of change, they are ablowing...