Later that night, after canvassing, my wife and I went to dinner at Bravo, in Woodmere, with Mandy Patinkin, Susie Turnbull (the vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee), and several local Democratic leaders.
It was a lovely dinner, maybe 10 of us in all. For the most part, we steered clear of talk about polls; no one handicapped Ohio. Not even once.
In fact, the most memorable conversation, for me, had nothing to do with politics. Mandy Patinkin, who is in town as a volunteer for Barack Obama, was talking about the research he did, for his role as a physician on Chicago Hope. He had the opportunity to witness more than half a dozen surgeries — and he absolutely loved it.
What struck him most, he said, was the human body — on the inside — how incredibly similar we all are. We may be white, or black, or brown-skinned on the outside; we may be German or British, American or South African – but our hearts and lungs … our brains … are just about identical, to the untrained eye, from one person to the next.
On second thought, maybe the conversation was about politics, after all.
My Obama Minute
I canvassed in West Dayton with Dick Chema, who ran for Congress in my district two years ago. We knocked on 59 doors, spoke to about 25 people, and learned that 19 had already voted, all for Obama (that they were for Obama was not surprising as the walk list was a ‘motivate’ one). The surprising thing was that this was an outlier community, middle and lower middle class, and meant a decent schlep into central Dayton where one had to go to vote early. The amount of commitment and the determination to vote were heartwarming.
Also, I want to give a shout out to my daughter Molly – she hasn’t been logging her Obama minutes but she’s been working steadily and today put in a 12 hour push – and this in Michigan. No wonder McCain pulled out!!
Mandy Pitinkin!?!?
That guy is a tireless campaigner. Remember Inigo Montoya’s lifelong search for the six-fingered man?
“My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
NJeditor:
I was so tempted to ask him about that line over dinner! I wonder if he gets that when he goes door to door!
He spoke a bit about “The Tempest,” which he just performed off-Broadway. Said he found it a perfect metaphor for our times …
Drdad:
KEEP GOING!
-ND