My friends Laura and Pam are both Jewish women who voted for Obama. Aside from this, they are as different as day and night.
Now, Pam is a different story entirely.
A Berkeley colleague, Pam was raised a Red Diaper Baby in Chicago. Her parents ensured that Pam and her siblings were steeped in party doctrine.
Pam's doctors were black and her preschool multiracial. Her parents rejected their Jewish religion, preferring to take the kids to socialist meetings rather than shul.
When Pam came to Berkeley for grad school, she fit right in. Embracing her parents' ardor for all things Left, Pam participated in various radical groups.
Pam raised a son on her own, making sure to transfer her revolutionary beliefs onto him. When he wrote a high school paper lionizing the Black Panthers, Pam couldn't have been prouder.
Laura voted for Obama because she denied his radical ties. Pam chose Obama because of his radical ties.