Patriot Update

First, I’d like to apologize to anyone who’s wearing a sweater or jacket as they read this.

Of late, I haven’t been doing my part to create global warming, as my car has been confined to the driveway — something about an automobile needing a functioning radiator or some such folderal, my mechanic says.

So I’ve been busing it while waiting for my bank account to catch up to my ambitions.

It’s been educational to actually get out of the car and let someone else drive. (The elusive “good Chinese food place” has apparently been just down the street for 10 years, and I never knew it existed.)

In addition to being geographically illuminating, it’s been an opportunity to rub elbows with the rest of the petite bourgoisie and realize that their jacket elbows these days are just as grubby and patched as mine.

A couple of things I’ve noticed: One, all these liberal accusations of rampant racism are hogwash — everybody talks to everybody else, at least in our town; and, two, a LOT of people in this liberal California don’t like Obama.

By my count, about three-fifths of the bus crowd I’ve talked to are for Romney. This is not a formal survey, and no way is it scientifically reliable, but I find it interesting nonetheless. The folks who take the bus are supposed to be Obama’s target crowd — the long-working, low-paid struggling masses.

What’s clear is that people in general aren’t as stupid as the people in the media or in politics. Most of them have concerns about finding or keeping a job, and most of them are looking at the guy in the Oval Office, despite what the media do or don’t show on the evening news.

I’ve also found that young people who are going to vote for the first time do come out of school with an “Obama yay” prejudice courtesy of their teachers and classmates, but many of them are curious about how things like the economy and Congress actually work. I’ve been a bit of a political evangelist to young folk I’ve met, and overall they seem “educable,” so there’s still hope for the future.

Other observations: People who use the Internet regularly or who listen to AM radio seem more knowledgeable about current events than those who get their news from TV or newpapers — no shock there. But what’s been surprising is the number of people who have not heard of the scandal surrounding the Benghazi attacks. The mainstream media, even online, are keeping this one under tight wraps, apparently.

Riding the bus is what many people have been brought to under Obama’s economy, and that’s what he wants, an America full of unexceptional people without the money to pay for the freedom that a full tank of gas can give you.

Unfortunately for Obama, the view from that bus isn’t looking so good for him. It’s looking like he might find himself under the wheels very soon.