Until this year, I had never registered voters. I had never canvassed door-to-door for a candidate. I had never called supporters reminding them to vote on election day. I set aside an hour or two about once a week over the last month or two and I feel it made a difference.
And Rachel, my daughter, helped out on Obama’s campaign. And Aaron, my son, not only voted for the first time, but helped out at the polls for eight solid hours on election day.
The groundswell of voters registering and the increasing numbers of Obama supporters seemed to be two of the factors that convinced McCain’s campaign to leave Michigan. I worked out of Obama’s East Lansing office: I was a member of Team 3, which covered about a square mile block of East Lansing and had almost 100 people on it. Knowing that there were thousands of other teams working in small areas of cities around the country was an empowering feeling.
From reading newspapers and the internet, watching television reports, and talking with some people, I sense the mood of the country changing. I realize I may not hang out with a great deal of Republican folk, but I have read many editorials from McCain supporters who plan to support the incoming President. For me, it’s partially about having an articulate, intelligent President. It will feel different to respect the President’s decisions because they don’t come off as fear-based, self-serving, or knee-jerk. That’s my hope, anyway. I mean, did Bush really have an Axis of Evil and what true purpose did he think it would fulfill? And I think our country is seen as taking a giant step forward with our decision for President (see the video, below). The ripple effect could be huge…in a positive direction…for years to come.
I’ve enjoyed this moment in time. Here are a few of the videos/photos that made it worth every minute:
The Barack Obama flickr site (behind the scenes photos)
Happy Days are here again.