A look back from a year’s distance
What follows is the text of an Email I sent to my friends and family the day of the 2008 Presidential Election. I was working as staff for the Obama campaign in Ohio.
Dear Friends and Family
I write this on the eve of the election. That’s actually a misnomer as I understand it, there is still a line at the early voting place, 5hrs after it has “closed”. Nonetheless: tomorrow is the deadline.
After tomorrow, you will not have a chance to register your desire that America be America again.
5hr lines, btw, are -not- inspiring. They are a tragedy more profound than 9/11. They are a farce and make mockery of our pretense to democracy. Inspiring, rather, is people’s willingness to stand in
those lines. “my grandparents weren’t allowed to, so I will.” yes, I sent hundreds into that line today. Tomorrow I send hundreds–thousands more.
And Margee does the same thing in Cincinnati. And Michael does the same thing in Indiana. And many of you are making calls, driving people, perhaps knocking on doors, filling those lines to capacity.
And breaking that capacity. And tomorrow, if we all do our jobs right, we will put Barack Hussein Obama in the white house.
I have hope.
Today I had an assistant to the mayor cone down. She was -outraged- that we weren’t being fed. Keep I’m mind that I’m running one of about 200 offices in Columbus. I showed her our rather full kitchen and let her know that I haven’t missed a meal.
She came back with food.
A guy came into my office from Santa Cruz. He made me meditate. He, and another woman in our office (a republican volunteer!) kept telling me that I was doing an amazingly good job. Perhaps they’re seeing what I was doing right. I was seeing everything I wasn’t doing…
I have to be up in a couple hours. Please feel free to _text_, but not call until 9pm pst. (My phone number is redacted)
Love to you all
PS:
It is now 5:36am. At 4am, I received a Robocall from Bill Clinton waking my ass (and the rest of me) up. I’ve been at the office for 17min and already sent my first team off.
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