Little Hope in a Little Town

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Small Town Skepticism

The small, conservative, Missouri town of West Plains thinks that Barack Obama's liberal beliefs are not the way the U.S. should be run and believe the country should stick with a "true" American president.

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By the time Collins had finished high school, a big company called Herrman Lumber had pushed Leon out of business. Collins moved into town, became a mechanic, married, divorced and lost an 11-year-old son to cerebral palsy. He started drinking and using crystal meth but quit in 2001 and became a Baptist preacher. Determined to recreate his childhood, Collins returned to his dad's old farm and asked the new owner whether he would sell it. Sure, the owner agreed. For $450,000.

Collins took a job at Regal Beloit, a manufacturer of electronics and mechanics, where he works the night shift because it pays an extra 35 cents an hour. He bought a trailer for $15,000 -- about the same original price as the old farm -- and agreed to manage the mobile home park for a little extra cash.

The worst of it, Collins said, is that he is a man of great faith with little hope that his circumstances will improve. He says he has no hopes for retirement, no alternative career options and nothing but fear about the prospect of an Obama presidency.

"There was a time not long ago where somebody like Obama would have tried to become president, and they would have run him out on a rail," Collins said. "That's back when this country had backbone. Now, we say, 'Okay. He might be different than what we're used to, but maybe we can use a change.' But wait a minute now. What was wrong with the way things were?"

One recent morning after his graveyard shift -- after another night spent listening to rumors about jobs moving to Mexico -- Collins ended up at a local diner with friends from work: Robert and Tammy Welty who have started working second jobs after they get off graveyard to support their three kids, but who Tammy says still "live practically like the Amish"; Charles Selfors, 30, who sold his truck because he couldn't afford to pay for gas; and Norman Carte, 61, who continues to receive bills for the triple-bypass surgery his wife underwent four years ago.

Here in West Plains, most people long ago gave up on the idea that Washington could fix their problems. Collins has consistently voted Republican in elections for social issues, he said, but he remembers Ronald Reagan as the last decent president. Since then, every politician has been "nothing but a liar," he said.

But no candidate has ever engendered loathing in West Plains as Obama has, the breakfast group agreed. There is a small Democratic Party presence here, and a group of liberals in nearby Rolla printed thousands of bumper stickers that proclaim, "Rednecks for Obama." But few people in town have heard many complaints about the controversial Obama sign.

Darryl Etheridge, a 67-year-old Obama supporter who owns a printing shop across the street from the sign, said people have stopped at his parking lot to take pictures and to ask for him to print T-shirts of the billboard. "It's freedom of speech, and it's pretty true to the conservative thought down here," Etheridge said. "[Obama] has got enough things different, you know, his name, his color, his religion, that people don't know what to make of him. I'd say at least 60 percent of people here agree with what the signs says."

At Collins's table in the diner, the sign had 100 percent support. "I say, good for us for speaking truth despite all of this political correctness," Carte said.

All five said they trust gossip and e-mails from friends over missives from politicians, which is why they spent breakfast trading misinformation about Obama. They think Obama will raise their taxes and legalize same-sex marriage, even though he has said explicitly that he will do neither. Obama is a practicing Christian who routinely talks about his "love of country." But, at Collins's table, Obama is better known as a man of African heritage and Muslim roots whose patriotism to the United States remains suspect.

"He needs to be 100 percent American, like we are," Tammy said.

"Yeah, and the truth is he's just not," Selfors said. "I can't trust him."

"At least with McCain, you've got somebody who served the country, was a prisoner of war and understands what people like us stand for," Carte said. "Obama scares me."

The group has already resigned itself to the likelihood of Obama winning the election. If Obama wins, this election will become another reminder of their increasing powerlessness, Selfors said -- the latest in a long series of losses for West Plains.

"I don't understand where this country is going, but I've got a feeling it's going with him," Selfors said.

"Yep," said Carte, "and we'll get left behind."