HausFiles: Liz Hausmann

My Summer Vacation

It has been an interesting summer! Everybody found their own way to enjoy (or endure) Georgia’s heat. For some it was sleeping a little later, enjoying the lighter traffic, or maybe some fun at the beach. I had my share of that, too, but not nearly enough.

This summer I had a new pastime that piqued my interest. It was a quest, if you will. A quest that some of you other political junkies will certainly appreciate. My mission was to see live and in person, as many of the presidential candidates as possible. No matter the political party, it became all about the experience. I was in pursuit of the next POTUS.

Of course, I have my favorites, and knew who they were going in. The opportunity to see the next President of the United States of the United States is quite exciting. But the opportunity to see the ones that are not so beloved, well, it all became irresistible! And then to compare them to each other was like being on the road with FOX News!

As an active Republican for many years, some of my partisan friends questioned my sanity when they find out how I spent my summer break. Though it may seem a little crazy to some observers, those of you who are true junkies know the rush you get from hanging with the political big kids. Beyond the rush, the whole experience was very educational. Let me tell you what I’ve learned.

People are different.
People are the same.
It doesn’t hurt to listen to other opinions.
Listening to other opinions can make your convictions even stronger.
The political process works.

It all started with Obama. He came to town in the spring – held a big rally at Georgia Tech on my birthday. Now, my daughter goes to Tech and we were getting together for lunch anyway, so she signed us up to go to the rally. I didn’t end up getting down there in time to see him, but we got caught up in the sea of people leaving the rally on the way to my birthday lunch. It was an excited and exciting crowd, -- young and hip, and the place was packed. It struck me that we could be on the verge of major political change. Which direction would we take?

I craved more. So, over the months that followed, I saw as many of the presidential candidates as I could find -- Republicans and Democrats. Even Hillary. (That one seems to get the biggest gasp.) I did my dead-level best to be objective. To observe the person and the supporters. Can’t wait to tell you all about it.