My parents just watched the debate in Spanish on Univision, and here are their thoughts

[Colobo]

Quick profiles:

-Dad, 53, mulatto man from the Dominican Republic. Speaks no English. He admires Hugo Chavez, respects Castro, hates Bush and likes the Democratic Party although he can't vote (Legal Resident). His candidate was John Edwards, although he did like Hillary Clinton. Has expressed his contempt for Barack Obama repeatedly.

-Mom, 59, black woman from Puerto Rico. Speaks no English. She leans to the right on social issues and leans left (slightly) on economic issues. Has voted, for the most part, Republican since we moved to the US in 2001, but she considers herself an independent. Hates Bush, hates the Iraq War, wants health care reform and will vote Democrat in 08. She think McCain is a crazy warmonger.

Thoughts about the debate:

-Dad was simply IMPRESSED with Barack Obama. The idea of an Obama Presidency is not ridiculous to him anymore. He thinks he won a close debate- Obama "outsmarted" Hillary, according to him, showing a political saavy and an intelligence he never thought Obama had. He thinks Hillary wasn't able to make her case tonight, and thought her final comment was "nice, sincere, but ineffective politically speaking". He says, however, that Hillary and Obama are very similar when it comes to policy. Predicts Obama will win the Democratic Nomination. "I still can't believe it, though", Dad says.

-Mom thought the debate was very very close, but that Obama shined by demonstrating he not only could go toe to toe with Hillary, but by looking very "presidential"- she says that, for the first time, she can envision America voting for a black man- "Obama is a brilliant man", she says. She thinks Hillary did very well too, but she didn't like her final answer. "He talked about his life experiences, while she tried to get emotional because she needed to finish strong. He sounded real. She was just trying to win the crowd over with emotion." Thinks Hillary still has a chance, especially if voters in Texas "bought her final answer", but she is very happy with Obama and is looking forward to voting for him in November.

Mom: "McCain wants to leave the troops in Iraq for 100 years? Is that guy crazy or what? He looks like a lunatic!" :)

So, that's the opinion of two Hispanics in Florida.

[nomorewhopper]

1. i love hearing anecdotes like these

from across the country, from many different backgrounds

thanks for posting.

[Colobo]

You're welcome!

[roguevalley]

34. your parents sound adorable. hug them for me.

[JeffR]

2. Great post!

Was the Univision translation good?

[Colobo]

10. Better than expected. Hillary's translator was somewhat poor, I will admit.

Still, in general, it was decent.

[JeffR]

18. I thought it was a disgrace the way they let the candidates

bicker on and on while Ramos tried to ask a new question on a different topic. John King and the vile Campbell Brown got to do way too much talking.

[grantcart]

3. thanks maybe your parents would enjoy Bill Maher's take on McCain

as the "Hey you kids, get of my lawn candidate"

[Cha]

4. Thanks, Katz..that was an interesting

report on your parents' impression of The Debate. Obama's surprised a lot of people at different stages of this election cycle, myself included.

[Eurobabe]

5. Interesting, thanks for sharing

I've heard similar stories from staunch Republicans.

[Raine]

6. Terrific

and nice to hear your parents insights. :thumbsup:

[Barack_America]

7. I wish your dad could vote!

I like how he's thinking! ;)

Thanks for giving us the inside scoop into hispanics in Florida...er, into 2 hispanics in Florida (as I believe y'all are allowed to vote differently, right? ;) )

[JimGinPA]

8. Very Nice Post nt

[John Q. Citizen]

9. Cool report. Thanks.

[ORDem]

11. Diga sus padres que nosotros estamos muy feliz que ellos son

tal votantes pensativos! (Y perdoname mi espanol horrible!)

Really, this is great. So many people think Obama is some kind of stuffed shirt or full of hot air, until they actually start to get to know him. It's wonderful that your parents can be so open-minded!

:dem:

[Colobo]

13. ¡Yo les diré! Sepa que su español es muy bueno. :)

[Bread and Circus]

12. "She was just trying to win the crowd over with emotion"

My feelings exactly. It seemed manipulating.

[totodeinhere]

14. You have great parents.

You must be very proud of them.

[Colobo]

16. Thank you, and I truly am.

[blogslut]

15. Thank you

I like your signature photo too. :)

[sandnsea]

17. I agree completely with your mom

on Hillary and her final answer. That's cool to hear about your dad. You must be ecstatic! Glad they've come around.

[Colobo]

19. I'm extremely happy because

if my dad could warm up to Obama and my mom could finally feel confident about his chances, then many Hispanics can as well!

[Window]

20. Your parents sound delightful!

Thank you for sharing.




Peace:thumbsup:

[Guava Jelly]

21. Cool

Thank you for sharing this story.

[TexasObserver]

22. Thanks for the family info and testimonials. That was golden, hermano.

In boxing (Ali) lingo, I thought Obama once again employed a solid "rope a dope" strategy. He waits until she oversteps, waits until she steps into the punch. He doesn't look for the knock out punch, but looks for the moment she comes too close, and his reach and speed surprise her.

I thought he did that several times in the second half of the debate.

One time you could tell she was genuinely admiring how well to played off a comment and made a quality retort.

[NDambi]

23. Most excellent post...I think many Hispanics are warming up to Obama...and that's a good thing..

[Adelante]

24. I love hearing from your parents, Katz

Thank you so much :)

[SKKY]

25. I don't know if I'd say McCain looks crazy exactly...

...but that cyborg-like, "Cherry 2000" robot he calls his wife is simply terrifying to look at.

[Kahuna]

26. Your parents are very savvy. They both nailed it, IMO. nt

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

27. You may want to attach some version of "The Yibbehobba Disclaimers" to your post.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4682519&mesg_id=4682519

[Dark]

28. Me gusta que sus padres, despues de ver a Obama, se hayan dado cuento que el

es un candidato actual y sus opionones son buenas.

Se que hay problemas entre los latinos y los Americanos Africanos, pero espero que, despues de verlo y oirlo, ellos empiezen a unirse como Estadounideunses.

(Siento que el espanol no sea buena.)

/Vayabama

[BeyondGeography]

29. Very interesting

=="I still can't believe it, though", Dad says. ==

I think there are a lot of people like your father. And, once they see Obama on the Capitol steps taking that oath, they will melt.

[Vinca]

30. After seeing the screen shot of the closed captioning the other day,

all I can say is I hope the Spanish translation isn't tampered with.

[ShortnFiery]

31. Thank you Katzenkavalier

:thumbsup: ;)

Your parents present themselves as independent thinking but insightful individuals.

This, one each, mature woman (49 y.o.), wishes to express her sincere opinion that you present yourself as a intelligent and well written YOUNG man. :blush:

Kudos & Fabuloso! :toast:

[Araxen]

32. Good Post and Thank you for posting this.

[Colobo]

33. Thanks for reading and for the nice comments!

[knixphan]

35. very cool

Nice - although I'm amazed that it took so many people this long to see Barack's intelligence and savvy. To me his intel has been unmistakeable since 2004... Was it just that they weren't looking? (this is rhetorical, just thinking out loud...)

Si Se Puede!