11.04.2008

Today's the day

Just another Tuesday, right? …

Out of bed at 6:12 a.m, though really I was awake about 30 minutes earlier because Kates didn’t shut off her alarm when she got out of bed. Put on my sweats. Give Phoebe her bottle while I watch last night’s Letterman on the DVR (He had some great lines in his monologue last night -- A lot of people are saying the weather is going to play a huge part in the election; for John McCain to win hell has to freeze over. And yesterday McCain campaigned in two states -- panic and desperation.)

The morning continues with trying to get Phoebe to eat her cereal, which is always a laborious and messy process in the morning. I have to find time to eat my own breakfast while Phoebe plays. Change her diaper. Dress her. Dance with her (This morning we did have a good time dancing to “Sloop John B.”) And if things go smoothly and I catch a little luck, we’re out of the house by 8:15 and driving to the daycare.

Ah, but today is not just another Tuesday.

Today is Election Day. I got to vote this morning. And it feels so good to say that.

I arrived at our polling place at 8:36 a.m., and I was back in the car barely 10 minutes later. I was voter No. 168 at our place… No lines. No fuss.

Sure, I could’ve voted early, as the campaigns and municipalities were plugging so heavily this year, out of fear for long lines and chaos on this day … But there’s something important to me about actually voting on Election Day. I suppose I’m a little superstitious, too, and couldn’t erase my lingering thoughts of something happening to my ballot if I cast it early.

I knew I was right as I began walking toward the polling place this morning. I couldn’t keep the smile from leaking out of my mouth, knowing the history we’re making today. The smile came out again as I received my ballot, again as I began marking it, and again as I left the poll.

On top of that, our polling place is a historic, picturesque beach house in town. It couldn’t have been prettier this morning -- a sunny fall morning on which the forecast is predicting record high temperatures. The leaves were bright orange and yellow. Lake Michigan was shimmering gold.

I arrived home in time to see “Today” showing Barack Obama voting in Chicago … What a moment, watching his smiling daughters at his side and the senator taking his time completing his ballot, and then the applause and cheers as he submitted his ballot … In the next moment, the network switched to Joe Biden casting his ballot in Delaware. I got a good chuckle when Matt Lauer pointed out nothing in a campaign goes unplanned and how well Biden timed his walk to the poll, just after the network had broadcast Obama casting his vote.

For now, I’ll go about the rest of my day, catching up on some house chores while keeping a close eye on the television coverage …

And then later this afternoon, I’ll go into the office and I’ll be in the thick of it all night long. Oh, what a night …

If Barack Obama doesn’t win this election, I think our office may implode …



* * *

I took a walk down memory lane over the weekend as I read an amusing story reviewing the long campaign odyssey.

It has been quite a ride, after all … Quite honestly, I’ve never ever doubted Barack Obama would be at this point, even while the media initially had Hillary written down as the Democratic nominee and even as we supported her in our state's primary ...

I’ll remember the day Kates and I -- on my deathbed -- watched live as Barack Obama announced his candidacy

I’ll remember our excitement over the possibility of the Chicago Olympics in 2016 and the remark my colleague Joe made

I’ll remember the day we got to see Hillary Clinton make a campaign stop in town …

I’ll remember the electricity of watching the Democratic National Convention in Denver … With Michelle Obama leaving no doubts she was a proud American. Hillary touting Obama, saying “No way, no McCain.” Getting to know Joe Biden and hearing his pledge to get back to having the conversations middle-class Americans are having at their tables about affording jobs, mortgages, healthcare and college tuitions. And Barack Obama accepting the nomination in front of 84,000 people crammed into Mile High Stadium, with fireworks exploding high in the sky …

I’ll remember watching the Republicans turn at their convention, mostly out of curiosity. George Bush speaking -- awkwardly -- from the White House, having excused himself from the convention to monitor Hurricane Gustav. Joe Lieberman crossing the aisle. And being somewhat intrigued by Sarah Palin’s defining speech, getting no clue of the circus that would follow her …

I’ll remember eagerly watching the debates …

I’ll remember eagerly watching Saturday Night Live, and the pop culture phenomenon their political sketches created …

I’ll remember the constant dispatch of political e-mails and text messages and Facebook notifications from the Obama campaign, and how Obama and young voters got the vote out with the Internet and technology like never before.

I’ll remember the significance of this election. John McCain could be the oldest President. Barack Obama could be the first black President. Sarah Palin could be the first female Vice President. Neither Obama or McCain were born in the 48 continental states. The next President will be the first senator elected since John Kennedy. The early voting and the predictions for record voter turnout.

And I’ll remember the palpable electricity and hope for change resting on this day.

Good reads ...
a TV news: Cautiously gung-ho
a Failure Is an Option ...
a Madam President: Will She Ever Get There?
a Obama's Nation
a The ’08 Campaign: Sea Change for Politics as We Know It

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