Obama - Biden

Dolli and I just got back from casting early ballots (NO Diebold Machines) I can't remember EVER getting tears in my eyes as i was about to fill in a ballot. But then I saw it there, with the oval waiting for me to check it in:

Barack Obama
Joe Biden

My throat tightened, my eyes teared. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, a truly terrible 8 years, filled with frustration, humiliation, anger, resentment, you name it- whatever one feels when they are a dot living in a country that does bad things, to people in other lands and to their very own brothers and sisters, with seemingly no recourse, in a country founded on the principal that we shall absolutely have that very recourse.

As we waited for our ballots, we struck up a conversation with an older African American woman there with her husband, he a quiet, gentle, smiling man wearing a Soap Box Derby hat with a Wingfoot on it, for all you Akronites looking for a real symbol. She told us she had had a vision. The right vision. Given that she also, she told us, had a falling out with her son and HE ended up in the hospital, I'll go ahead and hope this good voodoo of hers is on the money

As we were leaving, we had a short conversation with one of the Democrat canvasers out in the parking lot past the line of demarcation for campaigning. I told the younger black man that this was the most important election of his life. "No," he responded," The most important election of my life was the one that got us into this horrible mess in the first place." Couldn't argue with that.

We then went to Obama Headquarters where we signed the board and rang the bell as early voters, receiving applause from the office. I offered, since I work from home, to drive people to the polls during early voting leading up to November 4th. Dolli signed up to take a day off work on election day to drive voters.

Things are bad and they are going to get worse. I like this man and truly wish THIS was not what his presidency was going to have to start out like. But then again, if I can believe a presidency can help us, elevate us, define us, which I do, then this is the man that we have to have . He's the guy that has a shot, if a shot is to be had.

Weird. What a stirring and scary day... and such a proud day to be an American.



PLEASE VOTE!