Appearing Oct. 8th, on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show, Gov. Mike Easley (D-North Carolina) talked about the very real possibility of a "reverse Bradley effect".
"...I think you're going to see--now, this is coming from my barber, so this is good stuff I'm going to tell you. My barber tells me--and this is a guy who can put a razor--legally put a razor to your throat and ask you a question. So that's a good focus group he's getting all day long.
He says we're going to see a reverse Bradley effect, that there a lot of people that have been saying all along they would never vote for Barack Obama, but they are going to go in the voting booth and they're going to do it because it's in their economic interest.
I saw a pick up truck Monday, a guy riding in it with a shotgun in the back. And he had a camo hat and two Obama stickers. And I think the message there is, "I like McCain, but I love my job." And that's what people are looking at now."
While that may actually come to pass, there's a more plausible scenario. While at an Obama fundraising event, earlier this week, I brought up Gov. Easley's Maddow appearace and his above comments. One person agreed with the Gov's take but used his Oklahoma-residing parents, as a prime example of the theory, but with a twist: they are quite firm Obama supporters who make sure this information is unknown to the public at large for fear of retribution from intolerant neighbors or fellow townsfolk. No lawn signs, no stickers, no t-shirts endorsing their candidate. But they've made a clear choice and are unwavering in their decision. Hmmm...stealthy. I like it.
