Running east out of Flagstaff, Arizona, along old Route 66 (now Interstate 40), the high desert stretches away to the horizon, punctuated only by a mesa here and there, maybe a house sitting in the middle of what looks like nothing.
To the north lies the Navajo reservation, the largest parcel of Native American owned land in the country, where Obama has opened campaign offices, paid a visit, and won the endorsement of the tribe, along with many others. Further off to the north into the Escalante Plateau of southern Utah, setting of Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire. There, along the Colorado River, dwell "river rats," modern-day prospectors, Vietnam vets running raft trips - rebels, loners, and outsiders.
South of the highway, cutting like a bright ribbon across the desert, are what used to be the tracks of the old Santa Fe railroad. Here is another kind of symbol, of the "conquest" of the West, the "manifest destiny" of the white European settlers who headed out on the railroads loaded with machinery, and sent silver, coal, and minerals back east.
We pass through towns with names like Two Guns and Jack Rabbit, then on to Holbrook. There, the proprietor of Joe and Aggie's Mexican-style restaurant tells us that the town made its mark in the history books as where the U.S. government brought Geronimo - the great Apache leader who battled for two decades to protect his tribe's land - when he was finally subdued and captured.
As we continue on, the editors in our RV caravan are working madly to finish a video about Fred, a guard at the Hoover Dam, who after inspecting our vehicles for terrorist bombs, ripped off his badge, jumped before the cameras and began a non stop rant against politicians. You'll be seeing that video soon, along with Stan, the Holbrook barber, pulling himself up tall and square and telling the Truth Booth camera that all he wants is for Americans to work together to get out of this financial mess.
This part of Arizona is - or ought to be - solidly John McCain country. The Arizona senator is expected to carry his own state. But even here, the Obama forces are at work, a relentless stream of youthful organizers, going town to town, door to door. Already Obama has got what appears to be a secure lead in New Mexico, where more seats in the state's small Congressional delegation - perhaps even all of them - may end up in Democratic hands. We'll be tracking how the race is breaking down in multi-cultural, energy rich New Mexico, where early voting has just gotten underway.
