This morning on my walk to work I was waiting on the corner of Duboce/Mission for the crosswalk light. A woman walked up and stood beside me and then turned to me and said, “I’ve been walking and thinking about who to vote for in the primary – Clinton because she supports me as a woman or Obama because he’s black like me – are you undecided too? Who are you voting for?”
I said, “I’m undecided between Clinton and Edwards and leaning towards Edwards, and I understand where you’re coming from because I listened to some other women, at Randall Kennedy lecture the other night, talk about their indecision between supporting Clinton or Obama.”
She’s leaning towards Clinton because she more strongly identifies as a woman than as an African-American and thinks Clinton will do more for women. We agreed that it’s quite fabulous to have the choices we currently have in the primary and particularly fabulous to have the choice of a woman and a black man. (Though, personally, I think Edwards, the white guy, is more progressive and liberal than Clinton or Obama)
I was surprised and inspired by having a random street corner crosswalk “who to vote for in the primary” chat with a stranger. One reason why I love walking in San Francisco — she didn’t even think I could be a Republican.
(Though my cynical self wondered if she’s just walking the streets campaigning for Clinton.)
