Got an email over the weekend from an old acquaintance. It's an all-too-common story these days: he had a slipped disc a few years back, and had to shut down his business (consulting/training; he was a one-man-operation) and get a job as a security guard in order to have medical benefits until he healed. Once he was better, the economy was in the toilet and he couldn't find work in his old profession. So he's hanging on, doing security (working graveyard shifts) and is practically broke.
Here's the kicker: the guy's a rabid Republican. He sent me a "please don't vote for Obama" email a week before the election. He currently signs his emails with "End the Nightmare! Sarah Palin for President!" No, he's not kidding.
Never mind the delicious irony of a guy who hates the very man who's trying to reform the system that's beaten him to the ground. He's not some yahoo from a small town in the south. He's a smart guy. This is what we're up against, folks. Those town halls are the tip of a very ugly iceberg.