Three cheers for the Greatest Generation LEFTIES in our midst!

[SallyMander]

I just got this email from my grandpa (below), an 86-year-old WWII vet (I'd asked his opinion of the debate last night). His reply made me want to give him the hugest hug EVER!!! because i know that many in his generation (a) have an inherent admiration/preference for McCain due to his age and military record, and (b) grew up in an era of outright racism.

So, THREE CHEERS for our older compatriots on the left! Please check in here so we can tell you how much we appreciate you! :patriot:

I am so disgusted with McCain that I do not think I am a fair judge. I think his answers for the most part were shallow and naive. He is very much like Bush in that he does not hear anything or anyone that disagrees with his position. I am absolutely furious that he would pick Palan as his running mate - that is disgraceful.

Love,
Grandpa

Oh and grandpa -- :yourock:

[madmax]

1. You better tell Grampa how much you love him

If you could do it in person and hug the hell outta him so much the better. For you and Grampa :grouphug:

Grampa!!! :yourock:

[SallyMander]

2. I tell him all the time!

He is an inspiration and one of the most amazing people i know!!! I feel so lucky that he's still around. Unfortunately the in-person hug will have to wait until Thanksgiving, but i'm going to write him back right now. :D

:hug:

[CountAllVotes]

3. my late mother's best friend is still alive

she is 88 years old and is an Obama supporter BIG TIME. She called me up a couple of weeks ago and wanted to know where to get more signs/buttons (I have sent her a few from Obama's store).

She is a great old lady and I'm proud to be able to say that she was my late mother's best friend.

I'm sure my mother, if she was still alive, would have been for Obama too!

Hugs for your Grandpa! :D

:kick:

[SallyMander]

7. Aww, what a great story!

I hope she has all the Obama gear she wants! :D

:hug: for you and her!

[shifting_sands]

4. The Greatest Generation

I'm not part of that generation, I am part of the generation during the Vietnam War and we hung onto any and all information we could get regarding the prisoners of war and John McCain was certainly top of that list. Even after he made propaganda films against America for the Vietnamese, we were concerned and thrilled, liberal and conservative alike when they came home. That was the last time I was thrilled with John McCain. The divorce from his wife, the Keating Five the constant lies he told as a Senator, oh no, he has not been impressive to anyone but the press and the old guard in Arizona.

I went to a "debate" party last night made up of liberals and conservatives. The conservatives were mostly groaning and there were about 5 from "The greatest generation" and like your grandfather could not stand to listen to him. They were so disgusted at the last few days and so tired of his baloney they just left early. None of those five will be voting for McCain.

So hurray for your grandfather which shows that age has nothing to do with seeing and wanting progressive change and it has nothing to do with youth, 85 is proof positive that a person can be younger than 36 when it comes to age.

[SallyMander]

8. Wow, sounds like you had an interesting evening!

We had a party too, but no conservatives, so it was mostly just cheers for Obama and drinking when McCain said "my friends." ;)

Amazing that all five of the folks at your party saw through McCain's BS! :applause:

[BumRushDaShow]

5. I thought you were talking about southpaws for a minute

:rofl:

I didn't realize that McLame was also left-handed like Obama (and Clinton and so many others).

Tell granpa, w00t w00t! :woohoo:

My father is from that generation and if he had been here to see this, he would agree.

[SallyMander]

10. Haha -- i didn't notice that he was left-handed either!

Huh, weird! :D

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

6. My father in law got injured severely in Germany in WWII

He's 85 now and so is my mother in law.

They are midwestern salt-of-the-earth people, and they have been proudly Democratic for decades. Although they were originally for Hillary (they were big Clinton fans), they LOVE Barack Obama and have nothing but disgust for McCain.

[SallyMander]

11. Aww, yay!

That makes me so happy to hear! What state are they in?

:hug: and :patriot: for both of them!

[Arugula Latte]

19. Colorado!

I just visited, and, I have to say, I was VERY pleasantly surprised to see a plethora of Obama/Biden signs in suburban Denver. On other visits I've felt like liberals were few and far between there, but, wow, either they had been hiding, or many people have changed their stripes, or both. I saw a couple McCain signs, but way, way more Obama signs.

Also, my brother in law, who is registered as a Republican, cried during Obama's nomination acceptance speech. In a good way. :)

(on edit: their roots are in the Midwest, but they have lived in Colorado for several years.)

[SallyMander]

21. Yay, that is great news from Colorado!

I think of them as such greenies out there, it surprises me that the polls are so close... i guess it's probably an urban/rural divide?

[Arugula Latte]

29. Yes, probably the urban/rural thing, plus

there are tons of fundies in the Colorado Springs area. Also, a lot of Colorado still has that sort of wild west/macho thing going on, so the "tough guy" act of the Republicans appealed to a lot of people there. But I think the Republican facade is starting to wear thin for many people.

Boulder and the actual city of Denver are very liberal, though.

[Hepburn]

9. Kick and Rec for Grandpa!

:hi:

[SallyMander]

12. Thanks Hepburn!

He is my hero. :D

[Hepburn]

23. I can totally see why!

You are sooooooooooo lucky to have him around! Please send him a :hug: from Hepburn, OK?

:hi:

[begin_within]

13. And my Mom, who

served in the USMC in WWII and just turned 90 two weeks ago. She asked me why Palin was on the R ticket and I said, "because McCain picked her," and she said, "How can he, if she's so nutty and evil?"

[SallyMander]

14. I love your mom!

What a beauty -- that pic in uniform is so cool!!!

Hugs and happy birthday wishes to her! :D :hug:

[nam78_two]

15. Rec for your grandpa

:hi:

[SallyMander]

17. Thank you!

:hi:

[myrna minx]

16. My Greatest Generation, World War II veteran friend

has been so upset and heartbroken during the Bush years, that he was actually afraid of the demise of our country. I'm so glad that he has hope again. He's a wonderful man, who was a simple North Dakota farmer, with the most amazing mind.

:toast: to the Greatest Generation and your Grandpa!

[SallyMander]

18. Oh, your friend sounds fantastic

What a fascinating life story he must have! :patriot:

Next time you see him, give him a hug from a random 28-year-old in Ohio. :D

[Ernesto]

20. I had an 86 year old Marine at my side

when I worked the Democratic booth at our centennial celebration for our lil' town 2 weeks ago. What a great & wise guy!

[SallyMander]

22. Oh, that's great!

Not only a Dem, but still active and volunteering! :toast:

[Hepburn]

24. Where is the 5th rec for Grandpa????

Come on, DU...get Grandpa on the Greatest Page, OK? :hi:

[damonm]

26. I got yer 5th Rec right here...

:evilgrin:

Seriously, though:
My late Grandfather (Mom's side - passed in 1994, served US Army under Mark Clark in Italy) was a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat - FDR was right up there with Jesus Christ in his book. And his view of Republicans? "To Hell with 'em all!", he'd always say.

[SallyMander]

34. ...

:yourock:

[ronnykmarshall]

25. We love ya Grandpa!!!

[SallyMander]

31. Thanks ronny!

:D

:hi:

[lumberjack_jeff]

27. In my experience, WW2 vets are (or sadly, were) more liberal than those generations who followed. nt

[Oak2004]

30. Yes: that was the generation which was led out of the depression and through the war by FDR

And who were guided through the worst of the Cold War by the likes of Truman and JFK.

And I am so not-surprised that, on the doorstep of the Great Depression mk. II, they have nothing but disgust for the party that dismantled New Deal protections to prevent a repeat, and which nominated a vice presidential candidate not fit to fill Rosie the Riveter's shoes, let alone serve as the President.

Subsequent generations took for granted the world built for them by liberal Democrats (and/or were split apart/disillusioned/alienated by the Democrats' biggest mistake, pursuing the Vietnam War (yes, I know, Eisenhower started the ball rolling, but full "credit" for escalating the mess belongs to the Democrats)).

On a related note: I've seen oversimplified "blame the baby boomers" posts here and elsewhere that fail to appreciate that the divides of that era were not between the boomers and the older generation, but occurred within the boomers as well, between the left and left-leaning and the sometimes far more conservative boomers, as well as between early boomers (more left wing, more activist) and late boomers (more apathetic, more attracted to money, as eager to vote for Reagan as "generation X").

The fact is a lot of us were and remain on the right (left) side of the issues. And we did accomplish far more than the "blame the boomer" posters appreciate -- without our efforts Obama might still be drinking out of separate water fountains, Palin would likely not have made it as far as Wasilla city council (which might have been a good thing for all of us, but for reasons other than gender), and we would not be debating gay marriage, we'd be discussing the most recent gay bar raid, and reading off the names of the arrested, complete with home addresses, printed prominently in the newspaper to insure that the arrested would suffer a fate far worse than the misdemenor they were charged with. But enough of us were entranced by Wall Street, disco, and the Republican Party to have combined with other generations to bring about decades of Republican rule.

There's something to the notion of generations, but given that culture does not divide neatly into 20 year segments, and that no generation exists in a vacuum free of other generations, the story of generations is never as simple as people sometimes make it out to be.

[SallyMander]

32. That's an interesting point

and i think you're probably right!

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

28. I met an 84 year old Obama supporter last week

She stopped by our local campaign HQ to get a bumper sticker. She loves Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow's shows and enjoys Tina Fey's Palin impersonation on SNL.

I really enjoyed my chat with her.

[SallyMander]

33. That's so cool!

Sounds like a great conversation. :D