Any way you slice it, no matter the outcome of this election, it will be historic. We as democrats will (most likely) either nominate an african-american or a woman as our candidate for the first time ever. These possibilities have lead to a very spirited primary season that has made some people very passionate about the nomination of their chosen candidates. For every victory of a candidate and group, don't forget there is a loss felt, hard, out there among another.
Saturday the election came to my state, and let me tell you I am awfully proud of my state, still. I worked pretty darn hard for this win, not as hard as 4 years ago, but hard none the less, and it feels damned good to come out of this weekend with a W. Of course I was there at the convention center Saturday night for Obama's electrifying speech, and after a long day I went to retrieve my doggie from my parents where she had spent the day. I was on an emotional high, pumped up and jazzed, so of course my mood was very celebratory. I got to talking with my mother about how great this was, and she kinda broke down a little.
"Just remember it hurts to see her lose," she said. I told her she did what she could, "you voted for her right?"
"No, I voted for Barack!" she told me. I asked why and the response was quick "because he's the best person for the job," she told me and added "but it hurts because this is the only chance I have in my lifetime of seeing a woman elected president."
She told me she went in and voted, went back got in her car and started crying.
What can I say to that, I tried everything.
Hillary hasn't lost yet.
There are other strong women in elected office (Seblius) that could make a run at it.
Both were dismissed, she's sure Obama will win and she won't see a woman in the WH.
My choice to support Obama was very easy, once I gave up hope of Al running. I know beyond a shadow of I doubt I can never vote, in a primary, for any candidate who voted to give W the power to go to war in Iraq, not now, probably not ever. So my choice was easy.
Not everyone has it as good as I do. For some people their choice in this election is incredibaly hard with downsides in voting for any of the candidates. It means very much to many people to see an african-american or a woman elected.
It's something I didn't quite grasp until Saturday night, and I guess one more lesson my mom taught me. So going forward with this process, I will keep that in mind, and I hope ya'll do too.
Update: Wow, thank you all very much. This makes twice in 3 days my expectations have been blown out of the water. This was kinda supposed to be a drive-thru diary between my shifts at work about something kinda nipping at my thoughts since saturday. I'm very glad it resonated as well as it did. I made it a point to come show my mom all the comments, so thank you to all who put forth positive opinions/positions/support/understanding.