Family Feud ... was one of my grandma's favorite shows!

Everyone always thinks their family is crazier than everyone else's. All families have their special characteristics and idiosyncrasies. I have some family members who are still in the dark ages. They are conducting all their political battles ... um, I'm sorry, I mean banter ... through e-mail. That is sooooo 1990s. Come on people, today we blog ... and some even Twitter.
So I have invited them over to this blog to add their two cents to my posts. If things start to get a little HOT around here you will know why. (I'm not sure who I am talking to. Does anyone read this blog?)
Anyway ...
Here is the question FOR MY FAMILY ONLY:

What would Grandma Pigg have thought of this election? Who would she have supported in the primaries and who would she support now? And why?

And let's stipulate that even though she would have been 98 years old that you can pick any version of Grandma Pigg that you want to talk about. What I mean by that is:

• I don't remember much about Grandma in the 1960s, but I sense that she supported the changes in the country regarding race relations, but also supported the government because she thought it was her patriotic duty. So I think the late 60s troubled her, because she was pained by the turmoil (King/Kennedy assassinations, race riots, war protesters) but she sympathized with those who were in pain. That is why we made ditty bags for soldiers and visited and helped poor families in south Phoenix.
• Grandma in the 1970s was a Democrat who watched All In The Family and Maude and other "controversial" shows. She was still very patriotic, but she was let down by the establishment (Nixon) and seemed to be closer to a "bleeding heart liberal." And didn't she support Jimmy Carter?
• But Grandma in the 1980s started becoming more of a reactionary to social issues. In the early part of the decade she struggled financially like the rest of America. I don't think she liked Reagan at the beginning. But by the late '80s she grew more conservative. Actually, she was like Barry Goldwater; as she got older she got more crotchety and would say whatever was on her mind. Sometimes that was quite shocking to us, because many of her opinions changed 180 degrees from the '70s. And there was some bigotry slipping into conversations.
• 1990s Grandma was obviously going through a lot of changes related to her age. I don't remember much of her political beliefs, but I think she liked Bill Clinton. But she also seemed to get even more conservative in some ways; she didn't have as much patience with people who were struggling or needed help that the government might have provided.

If your memories conflict with mine, please share your recollections.

Anyway, in the primaries I think the Grandma Pigg I loved and remember most fondly would have supported:

• (Republican) She would be torn about McCain because he is representing Arizona and was a POW, but I think she would think he is a jerk; and she would have hated Romney because ... ahem ... he is a Mormon; the wild card might have been Huckabee;
• (Democratic) and on the other side, she would have supported Joe Biden or Barack Obama; she would have liked Edwards' looks but hated his southern accent; and she probably would have hated Hillary Clinton for a variety of reasons.

So, who would get (a 1970s-1980s) Grandma Pigg's vote in 2008?

• Barack Obama.

I think she would have been thrilled and in tears to watch a man, a black man like Barack Obama giving a speech in front of 70,000+ plus people in Denver to accept the nomination of the Democratic Party for President. She would think back over the racial turmoil she saw throughout her life and she would be proud to see this man standing there, 45 years after MLKs "I have a dream" speech in Washington. And I think she would have despised George W. Bush and what he has done to her country. And she wouldn't have wanted to let a Republican like John McCain continue in that direction for another four years.

But hey, that's just my opinion. And I may be romanticizing her memory a bit. But I think she would have liked seeing this.

OK, Carrie, Jalia, Kenny, Tad, Lynn, and others ... what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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