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It feels like people recognise something big has happened this week, but it hasn't really started having a serious knock on impact on peoples lives yet.

In terms of voter behaviour, your vox pop gives the impression that people's underlying views haven't changed as a result of recent events, but the national picture suggests a move back to Obama - which makes sense because he scores more highly on the economy. Any sense of that coming through?

Jon, are you going through ? It's about 40 miles south of Washington, DC, on US Highway 1, a few miles east of Interstate 95.

"The Town of Dumfries was formally established on 60 acres of land at the head of the harbor of Quantico Creek, provided by John Graham. He named the town after his birthplace, Dumfrieshire, Scotland."

It's a nice, small American town. And, yes, it has a Wal-Mart.

Jon,

Good job! A nicely balanced set of interviews.
(what they "reckon")? Picking up some Americanisms too.

Very Interesting piece. I'm always interested in hearing what my fellow New Mexicans are saying. Often the rest of the country forgets we are part of the union. However, the population of NM is over 50% hispanic and there was not a single latino seen here. Why is that?

Oh yes, Ms. McCoy, it's definitely the fault of the DEMOCRATS in Congress.

Who has been in office for the past 8 YEARS?

Where is Bush now? We don't hear anything from him do we?

Obviously, you are taken in by the Republican talking points.

BTW, didn't McCain support deregulation for the entire time he has been in Washington?

And, yes, he has been in WASHINGTON, despite his trying to distance himself from that City in the last week or so...

Has the Republican party been taken over by aliens? Is it true that the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" has come true and taken all of the Republicans away?

How dumb do these Republicans [yes, Republicans, even though they don't like to refer to themselves as Republicans anymore] think the average American is anyway?

Sad state of affairs....

Janice McCoys comment about the Democratic congress doing nothing is interesting. Has she considered the Presidents veto power as part of the reason why nothing is happening in congress? Has she considered that if the Democrats haven't been able to do anything then we're still working on Republican policy?

I found it odd that Jon Kelley did not speak to Hispanic Americans nor American Indians. The two groups make up more then half of New Mexico鈥檚 population. Yes, they speak English.
As he travels through out the United States he will find that we are an extremely diverse country with different and interesting local cultures.

Jon,

How on earth did you manage to interview 6 people in Santa Fe and none of them are traditional Hispanic or Native American? Also, as the state capital, a large percentage of local residents work directly or indirectly with government, and you didn't seem to capture any of this perspective either. You missed more than 50% of the population, so I'm not at all sure what your "survey" tells us.

Jon Kelly did not interview anyone under that age of 50. This is a huge error since the whole picture is not being shown. I am in my mid-20's and face different issues then individuals in their 50's. The Wall Street issue will have a high impact on the economy. I believe we should pick a leader who can understand the issue and help the country recover.

Both McCain and Obama have to release that they are going to change the landscape of the US on global scales.

Obama has the economic plan that I believe will help the US citizens.

I am moving to New Mexico. Few, if any, of these people look the age given on the blog. Is it the sunshine or the stressfree lifestyle down there? Whatever it is, I want it!

Commenting on their political views, I don't think it amounts to a hill of beans who wins the Nov election. There are such big problems in the USA that the new president will have little room to maneuvre anyway. The biggest decision will be Iraq. Can the country even AFFORD to stay there anymore? It is a major drain on the economy at a time when the economy is teetering. Bush is squarely to blame for Iraq!

"My son has just graduated from business school. I've advised him not to look for a job until the election is decided."

Priceless ! :)


and Janice McCoy's comments are unfortunately common within our current ill-informed population.

I live in Santa Fe, and the comments and people interviewed are totally unrepresentative of my community. More than half the people in town are either Hispanic or Native American; more than half the employment in the city is either arts-related or government; and finally, Santa Fe is one of, if not the most, progressive cities in North America. At most elections the vote for Democrats and progressive third parties exceeds 90% of the ballots cast. Was this journalist even in Santa Fe?

Many Republicans keep blaming the democrats. They say that because the democrats have been in control for two years that they should be blamed for current the problems. I find this thinking either hypocritical or naive or ignorant.

First, two years is not enough time to stop Bush's policies, especially if they don't have a veto overridng power, like a solid majority.

Second, and most important, the Republicans were in power for over eight years and they made a mess of this, so why are not they being held accountable? To demand that the Democrats fix our problems without laying responsibility on the party that ran the country into the ground is not just partisan, it is unfair. It's an insult to any intelligent American.

The Republicans should be held accountable for their failures: the economy, the war and the status of America in the world. And it is a sad day for Republicans when they tout Palin as an expert on Russia just because she lives near Russia. It is sad to see Mr McCain stoop to such a low standard just to win an election.

clarkcaa - How exactly is Obama's plan for the economy going to help it? By taxing everyone more? Oh wait, he's just going to tax the very rich people (Who are already taxed very heavily compared to everyone else), if you don't think that will affect you then you have your head in the sand.

For all the people blaming Bush please get over it! Pelosi and the Congress aren't doing anything to help so it all looks like Bush's fault. Typical Dumbocrats would rather see the US fail economically, at war, etc. etc. just so they can say "see, told you so". He's one man, you can't blame everything on him. This mess of the economy has nothing to do with him, just dumb people using their homes as ATM's. As for the Iraq war - please look how many of your fellow Democrats voted for it.

To#4Angelapa

You made an excellent point. I live in Arizona with also has a large Latino population. When will these voices be heard?

To#12Riverleaper

My heart is with you.
Jon Kelly was in my state and barely showed one facet of our diversity. New Mexico is beautiful and has many good people but do not expect that your questions will be addressed or answered here.

Jon,

Just a note:

The expressions "to be in a good way" or "to be in a bad way" are only found in British English. Unless Michael McMinn is British, he would not have said "The markets are in a bad way." He would have said "The markets are doing bad." or "The market is going downhill." perhaps.

I mention this because it appears here that you are quoting him, when this is in fact paraphrasing.

-linguist, UC Berkeley Dept. Linguistics

#16 I have used and heard that expression many times. It may be British but not uniquely so.

Thank you for the excellent stories. Your clear headed, accurate, and at times affectionate portrayal of my country is appreciated.

Some of the comments by readers are also indicative of the nature of of our opinionated people. The internet seems to attract those who have the slightest complaint about any matter. From your reports it is obvious that you and your team understand this all too well. Hopefully your countryman will also see it.

Work such as yours puts a real face on who we are and what we are about. There is, and always will be, a serious need for reporters such as you and your team. Your efforts are much appreciated.

Sorry but I have to disagree with your idea that our current mortgage mess was the fault of Dem or Rep. As a realtor, I can tell you it was neither. It was the fault of financial institutions offering loans that had a high risk element, such as variable interest rates, to people who could not afford to accomodate high risk. I can truly tell you that both the buyers and bankers were driven by greed. All parties believed the party would never end. Home owners were willing to take the chance and planned on keeping the house for a couple of years and then selling at a huge profit. Bankers never saw the melt down coming. All the parties in this fiasco are equally to blame.

Mr.Kelly spent quite some time on the Santa Fe Plaza asking people for a few minutes of their time. Not everyone wanted to talk to him. Maybe this is why there are no Latinos or Native Americans in his blog. Perhaps they didn't want to talk to him not that he didn't diversify his interviews.