This Year's Election Captured in a Moment

Late this afternoon, I ran out to the neighborhood grocery to buy some burgers and hot dogs. I wore my brand new Obama Biden 2008 t-shirt (purchased at this week's rally). Now, for those who don't know me, what you need to understand is that I live in one of the most conservative districts in the country. If Indiana is red, Carmel is deepest, darkest red, maybe even blood red. While I walked through the grocery, a number of people gave me what I can only describe as "interesting" glances. But one moment captured the entire character of this election.

A woman and a girl were walking by me in the frozen foods section. I would guess that the woman was in her late 40s or early 50s. She was well dressed, especially for a Saturday afternoon. The girl was, I would guess, somewhere between 16 and 20 (I've given up trying to guess too closely). She was wearing a Carmel High School t-shirt. Anyway, as they walked by me the woman (who, I presume, was the mother of the girl), very clearly looked at my shirt and then shot me a "glare of death" (sorry, it didn't work). I just smiled. But then, as the woman walked by, the girl turned around and, using her body to shield her action from her mother, she shot me a big grin and a thumbs up.

The dichotomy between the mother's scorn and the daughter's smile seems to be a near perfect illustration of one of the key characteristics of this election cycle.