Listening to Texans at the polls

Story Transcript

Listening to Texans at the polls

MATTHEW PALEVSKY, JOURNALIST: So what brings you out here for Hillary?

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VOTER: Well, there’s two reasons. One is probably frivolous considered some is that she’s a woman, and I think women all over the world have run countries, and it’s about high time a strong woman has run this country. Second is health care. I personally have good health care. But my two grandchildren who are college age do not. And while Senator Obama’s campaign covers children, it leaves people their age—24 and 18 or 19—out. And this is the first generation that could conceivably die before us because of health problems—I mean have a shorter life. And they’re having to struggle harder and having double-digit debt before they even get out of college. So, you know, this is not good. How do we expect them to come up and run the country and be our citizens of the future if they’re beat down by life? I don’t dislike Senator Obama. I think he’s a fine man. He’s no doubt a great speaker. But that’s all. He’s like a Baptist minister or a minister that just feel good, and then you leave and you’re going, “Oh, what’d he say?” You know? So, you know, that’s the only thing. I think with more seasoning he’ll probably be really ready to take it on. I don’t know that I trust him to understand how really bad politics can be. I voted for Carter. Carter was a good man, but they just ate him for lunch. So, you know, people say you don’t want a politician, but do you want an accountant to do your heart surgery or do you want a heart surgeon to do your accounting? I mean, you’ve got to have a politician, ’cause they know how it’s done. And, you know, that she’s a member of a long line of politicians, I want the best in there that knows how the game is played, that know how dirty they can get, and she can stand her own in a peeing contest with men. So I like that. I come from a military family—my father, my husband. And I think it’s high time—our troops have done what they were asked to do, have gone above and beyond what they were asked to do, and it’s time that some of them get to come home and rest and redeploy in the event that we do need them for Afghanistan or some other hot spot in the world. I think this is a bottomless pit that they’re in right now. I have a nephew that is in Iraq right now. I have a friend of my daughter’s who’s in college that died in Iraq two years ago, the same age as she is, 24. If they fought a hundred years, you’ll be in the same place, ’cause you’re never going to get the two sides to agree on anything. So it’s time for them to take responsibility in their own country.

PALEVSKY: Did you think it was going to be good for America when we went into Iraq?

VOTER: No, I didn’t. Now, my brother thought they did have weapons of mass destruction. I said, no, they didn’t, because that man’s ego would have had him use it. You know. So I thought this is not right. They didn’t attack us.

PALEVSKY: What makes you think she can get it done now?

VOTER: Because she was just first lady. You know? She really didn’t have any power other than the visibility of her being first lady. If she were president, she could bring to bear pressure, and she’s good at convincing people. And if she can get enough on her side, then she can sign it. So she’ll have authority this time. She’d have a policy-making ability this time.

PALEVSKY: Do you think Obama would be able to get it done?

VOTER: I don’t know that he’d be able to get it done, but even his plan is—what I’m saying, leaves some people out that are important. I just don’t see what his policies are that would be best for my family and our needs. Put it that way.

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that TRNN transcripts are typed from a recording of the program; The Real News Network cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.

Story Transcript

Listening to Texans at the polls

MATTHEW PALEVSKY, JOURNALIST: So what brings you out here for Hillary?

VOTER: Well, there’s two reasons. One is probably frivolous considered some is that she’s a woman, and I think women all over the world have run countries, and it’s about high time a strong woman has run this country. Second is health care. I personally have good health care. But my two grandchildren who are college age do not. And while Senator Obama’s campaign covers children, it leaves people their age—24 and 18 or 19—out. And this is the first generation that could conceivably die before us because of health problems—I mean have a shorter life. And they’re having to struggle harder and having double-digit debt before they even get out of college. So, you know, this is not good. How do we expect them to come up and run the country and be our citizens of the future if they’re beat down by life? I don’t dislike Senator Obama. I think he’s a fine man. He’s no doubt a great speaker. But that’s all. He’s like a Baptist minister or a minister that just feel good, and then you leave and you’re going, “Oh, what’d he say?” You know? So, you know, that’s the only thing. I think with more seasoning he’ll probably be really ready to take it on. I don’t know that I trust him to understand how really bad politics can be. I voted for Carter. Carter was a good man, but they just ate him for lunch. So, you know, people say you don’t want a politician, but do you want an accountant to do your heart surgery or do you want a heart surgeon to do your accounting? I mean, you’ve got to have a politician, ’cause they know how it’s done. And, you know, that she’s a member of a long line of politicians, I want the best in there that knows how the game is played, that know how dirty they can get, and she can stand her own in a peeing contest with men. So I like that. I come from a military family—my father, my husband. And I think it’s high time—our troops have done what they were asked to do, have gone above and beyond what they were asked to do, and it’s time that some of them get to come home and rest and redeploy in the event that we do need them for Afghanistan or some other hot spot in the world. I think this is a bottomless pit that they’re in right now. I have a nephew that is in Iraq right now. I have a friend of my daughter’s who’s in college that died in Iraq two years ago, the same age as she is, 24. If they fought a hundred years, you’ll be in the same place, ’cause you’re never going to get the two sides to agree on anything. So it’s time for them to take responsibility in their own country.

PALEVSKY: Did you think it was going to be good for America when we went into Iraq?

VOTER: No, I didn’t. Now, my brother thought they did have weapons of mass destruction. I said, no, they didn’t, because that man’s ego would have had him use it. You know. So I thought this is not right. They didn’t attack us.

PALEVSKY: What makes you think she can get it done now?

VOTER: Because she was just first lady. You know? She really didn’t have any power other than the visibility of her being first lady. If she were president, she could bring to bear pressure, and she’s good at convincing people. And if she can get enough on her side, then she can sign it. So she’ll have authority this time. She’d have a policy-making ability this time.

PALEVSKY: Do you think Obama would be able to get it done?

VOTER: I don’t know that he’d be able to get it done, but even his plan is—what I’m saying, leaves some people out that are important. I just don’t see what his policies are that would be best for my family and our needs. Put it that way.

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that TRNN transcripts are typed from a recording of the program; The Real News Network cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.