Whom are you voting for, part II?

Whom are you voting for, part II?

Two weeks now until the presidential election. Last week, as part of this three-part series on voting preference in the upcoming election, I interviewed an 84-year-old Holocaust survivor who supports Senator Obama. This week, I’m crisscrossing the country (longitudinally speaking) and the generations and interviewing a 31-year-old doctor, originally from Tennessee, now living in a town called Orange Beach, on the Alabama side of the Alabama-Florida state line. I interviewed Dr. Molly in a restaurant called Tina’s Sunset Grill. Indeed, the proprietor’s name was Tina and the restaurant offered a beautiful, unimpeded view of the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico. And the grill was out of this world delicious. Well, at least the blackened crawfish.

Q: Dr. Molly, thank you for joining me. I’m just trying to get a sense of what voters are thinking around the country. Have you decided whom you will be voting for in a couple of weeks?

Dr. Molly: I decided a long time ago, Brian. I’ll be voting for John McCain for president and Jefferson Sessions for senator [the incumbent Alabama senator running against Democrat Vivian Davis Figures].

Q: You sound very certain of your choices.

Dr. Molly: I’m not “on the fence,” let’s just put it that way. I’m not one of those undecideds.

Q: What do you see in McCain – and Senator Sessions – that makes you so confident in their abilities to run this country?

Dr. Molly: In one word, Brian: values. I think, in this country as a whole, we’re losing our core values. We’re going against our basic instinctual selves. We’re going away from our natural tendencies. We’re going toward political philosophies, toward artificialities. I think, that by voting for McCain/Palin and Jefferson Sessions, we’re moving back to our core belief system.

Q: What’s our core belief system?

Dr. Molly: Free enterprise. Entrepreneurial spirit. Patriotism. God. Family. Morals. Do you see what I’m saying? Standards. I think we’re very close to a kind of political and religious heresy…

At this point in the interview an older woman approached the table to take our order. This was Tina, the owner of the restaurant. Tina wore too much makeup. Tina’s hair was overly dyed and overly permed. Tina had a face that might crack, as if one more problem – a cook mistakenly turning a rare hamburger well done or a customer who misorders and then blames the service – and she would have kicked off her flip-flops and pounded the perpetrator into the ground. She reminded me of Cindy McCain. Of course, Cindy McCain would not have been wearing flip-flops but stilettos and the heels would have done a lot more damage than the flat, rubbery surface of flip-flops.
     Dr. Molly offered to order for the table and I, after glancing up at Tina and wondering if I’d be that customer to send her off the deep end, accepted. Dr. Molly ordered the delicacies of the Gulf Coast. Redneck caviar, chunks of croc, mudbugs on a railcar, and of course beer. Coor’s Light. Because this is the Gulf Coast, known in these parts as the Redneck Riviera, the Coor’s Light came in giant plastic containers.
     After Dr. Molly’s order, I returned to the interview:

Q: I grew up in Colorado. Coor’s Light was the beer of choice back in my high school days. I haven’t tasted it since then.

Dr. Molly: Well I’m sure it hasn’t changed much. It goes great with the crayfish. Just wait. You’ll see.

I decided to follow the doctor’s orders. In the meantime, I continued with the interview:

Q: You used a phrase, a “political and religious heresy.” What does that mean?

Dr. Molly: We have a candidate now who doesn’t believe in God. He’s not bound by the tenets of ethical thought. He’s bound by his own political philosophies. Like I said, artificialities. I think that’s very dangerous.

Q: You’re talking now about Barack Obama?

Dr. Molly: Yes. He talks about his Christian faith but it’s all just lip service. You can tell from his politics: the man is not a believer.

Q: How can you tell from his politics?

Dr. Molly: Go down the line. Abortion: a believer would not be pro-abortion. A believer should see abortion as a criminal violation. Stem cell research: a believer would reject the use of embryonic stem cells. It’s blasphemy to even consider the possibility. Gay marriage: a believer knows that marriage is a sacred bond between one man and one woman. Prayer in schools: a believer would make that a front and center issue. You’re pledging yourself to your country and to God, what could be more important?

Q: You don’t see Senator Obama supporting the pledge of allegiance?

Dr. Molly: He didn’t wear a flag pin on his lapel, at least until recently. Until voters made it an issue. What does that tell you? And he cavorts with terrorists. He has a history of cavorting with terrorists.

Q: You’re talking about Bill Ayers, when Obama was 8-years-old?

Dr. Molly: I’m talking about Bill Ayers, when Obama was an Illinois State Senator, and I’m talking about Reverend Wright. Obama listened to Wright’s trash for twenty years. Wright was his number one spiritual adviser. Isn’t that dangerous?

Q: Do you consider Reverend Wright a terrorist?

Dr. Molly: I consider Reverend Wright very dangerous.

Q: He’s very much a believer in God. And Bill Ayers, just so that you know, today is a distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois. He’s also a Christian.

At this point in the interview Tina brought over the beers, in big plastic containers the color of crimson tide, a kind of algae common to the Gulf of Mexico. The words on the container matched the fight song of the University of Alabama: Roll Tide.
     Tina also brought the first of the delicacies: redneck caviar, a mixture of black beans, onions, peppers and seasonings served on crackers. The seasoning was somewhat spicy. The Coor’s Light superbly offset the spice. Dr. Molly was right about the beer serving as the perfect compliment.
     After a cracker and a gulp of beer, I returned to the interview:

Q: And you think John McCain is a believer?

Dr. Molly: Yes I do. I read an article of McCain in Time Magazine. I don’t particularly like Time but it was in my waiting room. You know, for the patients. In the article he says, and I quote, “that the most important thing is that I’m a Christian.” That really got me. I mean, that’s why I voted for George Bush. And like President Bush, McCain wasn’t grandstanding when he said it. He was sincere. Now contrast that to Barack Obama. He’s a Christian because it’s politically expedient. I mean, there’s some question as to whether he’s a Christian at all. Some suggest he’s a Muslim. An Arab.

Q: Dr. Molly, you just said yourself that Obama went to Reverend Wright’s church for twenty years. So how can he be a Muslim? And, just so that you know, there’s a big population of Arab Christians. In fact, the majority of Palestinians living outside of Palestine is not Muslim but Christian.

Dr. Molly (with a big frown on her face): I don’t believe that. Arabs aren’t Christians, particularly Palestinians. If they were, there wouldn’t be this feud with the Jews. A good Christian loves the Jews. We come from Jews.

Q: If only Christianity practiced that. Have you ever heard of Jews kidnapping Christian children and using their blood to make the Passover matzah?

Dr. Molly: No. I don’t believe that. That’s ridiculous.

Q: It is ridiculous. But the legend of it happening spurred on pogroms throughout the ages. It’s part of a long history of blood libel.

Silence followed my statement. Dr. Molly ate a cracker. She chewed on peppers. I stared at the plastic container of beer. The crimson red reminded me of blood libel. Fortunately Tina appeared with more delicacies. The chunks of croc – alligator tail blackened – tasted too tough. Maybe Tina’s cook should have beaten it with a mallet (though I wasn’t going to be the customer to suggest that to Tina). On the other hand, the mudbugs on a railcar – crawfish on a po’-boy bun – tasted divine. With the beer and the sunset, it made for a strange kind of trinity.
     Speaking of the Trinity, Dr. Molly’s thoughts returned to the John McCain interview in Time Magazine:

Dr. Molly: McCain goes on to talk about believing in a loving God, in a personal God. He says his life is about redemption. That’s what I believe in. Like John McCain, I don’t believe in a vengeful God. I believe in the God of love. That’s why I became a doctor.

Q: What do you mean?

Dr. Molly: Well what is the medical profession? It’s about healing. It’s about administering to the sick. Of course it’s a business. Of course there are layers of bureaucracy now built into it. But that’s the business side. The medical side is a very personal relationship with the patient. One on one. You look your patient in the eye. You ask very personal questions. You patience answers in very personal ways. Why? Because he trusts you. He believes in you. That’s the God of love right there.

Q: What kind of medicine do you specialize in?

Dr. Molly: I’m a family practitioner, one of only a few here in Orange Beach. The town knows me by my first name, Molly. I doubt anyone knows my last name.

Q: In our phone conversation when we were setting up this interview you told me that you were from Tennessee. Why did you settle here? Did you go to the University of Alabama medical school?

Dr. Molly: No, I went to med school down in the Caribbean. I couldn’t get in to med school here in America and I didn’t want to wait around, applying every year and watching my life slip away. I went to St. George School of Medicine in Grenada. Down there, I fell in love with the ocean. So after my residency, I decided to settle in an ocean beach community. Orange Beach was hiring.

Q: Where did you do your residency?

Dr. Molly: Loch Ewe in Scotland. It’s a fishing village up in the north.

Q: Sounds cold for a southern girl.

Dr. Molly: Yes, I was very happy to come home.

Dr. Molly smiled at me. She has a very tender smile (the opposite in fact of the chunks of croc). I bet she’s good with the families at her clinic. I decided to return to the interview:

Q: Do you think George W. Bush believes in the God of love? His politics seem to be about vengeance.

Dr. Molly: Yes, he believes in the God of love. Listen, I voted for President Bush twice. I just think that he got sidetracked. That’s what happened to him.

Q: What sidetracked him?

Dr. Molly: I think he was led astray by his advisers. I think he received rotten advice and false information. I think President Bush is a man of great conviction and I believe, in his heart, he acts out of love. But what can you do when you don’t have proper information? What can you do when you have disloyalty around you? I think that’s what happened to President Bush.

Q: George Bush, when he was first running for president, chose a very experienced running mate, Dick Cheney. He then chose a very experienced cabinet, including Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld. John McCain has gone in a different direction, at least with his running mate. What do you think of Sarah Palin?

Dr. Molly: What’s not to love about Sarah? The girl has it all: family life, loving husband, beauty, style, smarts. She’s a great leader.

Q: If Sarah Palin had run for governor of Alabama in 2006, rather than Alaska, would you have voted for her?

Dr. Molly: In a heartbeat. You know, there will be a whole generation of girls who will grow up with Sarah as a role model, if she becomes vice president. I can’t think of a better role model. I pray it happens.

Q: Do you have children?

Dr. Molly: Not yet. My husband and I have decided to wait a few years.

Q: When you do have children, what do you think of the names Bristol, Piper, Track, Willow and Trig? Would you choose any of those names for your children?

Dr. Molly: I like the name Bristol.

Q: You do? What about Track and Trig?

Dr. Molly: Track’s in the Army, fighting for this country, and Trig has Down syndrome. I don’t think you should be making fun of them.

Q: I’m not making fun of them. I’m making fun of parents who would choose those names.

Dr. Molly: What are the names of your children?

Q: I don’t have children.

Dr. Molly: I see. Are you married?

Q: No.

Dr. Molly: I see. Are you gay?

Q: Would you find that offensive?

No answer.

Q: Do you have gays and lesbians in your practice?

Dr. Molly: There aren’t a lot of gays here in Orange Beach. Most of them live down in Key West.

Q: I like Key West.

No answer. The interview arrived at that strange place: how to end it. While Dr. Molly finished her beer, I glanced through my notes. What struck me were the names, the connections. In the Alabama senate race, a Jefferson (Sessions) is running against a Davis (Vivian Davis Figures). St. George School of medicine and George Bush. Orange Beach and crimson tide. Of course, the names of Sarah Palin’s brood and the names of Gulf Coast delicacies. There seems to be a link. Track and Trig might be the local version of fish and chips. Certainly Sarah and Todd Palin might name their sixth child Mudbug, judging from the other names chosen.
     Tina brought over the bill and though we fought over it, I won. It was only fair. I was using her time. We then shook hands and Dr. Molly walked away.
     I walked over to the gift shop part of the restaurant. There were two items for sale that interested me: a “Redneck Riviera” T-shirt and a confederate flag beach towel. I only had enough cash in hand for one. I was torn. I doubted I’d be back this way again. I bought the confederate flag towel because the T-shirt would have been too flamboyant for me in New York City, garnering too much attention. The towel, on the other hand, would never make it out of the closet.

(In the run-up to the presidential election, I am interviewing voters across the country. To read earlier parts of this series, please click on the link “More articles by Brian Josepher” below. You will see the “Whom are you voting for” articles to the right.)

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Whom are you voting for, part II?