If the turn out at the Democratic Party caucus in Sarpy County, Nebraska is any indication of what to expect in November, America is in for some big changes.
Our first hint that something totally unexpected and wonderful was unfolding when we ran into the what has to be the very first two-mile long, bumper-to-bumper traffic jam in Sarpy County history. Surely they can't all be headed to Papillion South High School, the site of the Democratic Party caucus in our county, which is the next one south of Omaha, my wife and I thought.
They were.
Despite a bitter, biting wind announcing the passage of yet another Canadian arctic weather front, people were turning out in what can only be referred to as record numbers. The parking lots around the school were full, so where all the verges and side roads, Caucus goers where having to park half a mile away.
And when you did get finally get a spot to park, you had to wait in long lines out in the cold, as the registration process was simply overwhelmed by the turnout. Before we got we even got inside the building, organizers informed us that they had ran out of the initial printing of 1,500 presidential preference cards. They were in the process of printing up another 2,000... and even those wouldn't be enough, it turned out.
After a long wait in over-crowded hallways that resembled the New York subway at morning rush hour -- there was literally no room to move as people jostled each other shoulder-to-shoulder trying to find their names on the Democratic Party list or, like my wife and I, re-register from Republican to Democrat.
Next we had to find our legislative district and from there proceed to a holding area in the high school foyer, making room for more caucus goers to squeeze inside. While some districts caucused in the school cafeteria, Legislative districts 3, 14 and 45 -- we are in 14 -- eventually shuffled our way into the school gym, filling all the bleachers and basketball court, dividing into Hillary and Obama camps, the undecideds standing in the middle of floor.
Amidst chants and foot stomping for Senator Obama -- and placard waving by Senator Clinton supporters -- the caucus organizers tried to get a head count, but from the waving yellow preference cards and cheering fans in the stands, it appeared to us that Obama likely had about two-thirds of the votes. That is only a very rough estimate, of course.
A process that we thought would take half a hour took two, but you've never seen a happier group of people in your life. Despite the cold, despite the long lines, despite the obvious confusion, it was clear that these people were thrilled to not only be taking part in history, but discovering there are very literally thousands of others who share their views.... not to mention sending a powerful political statement to the powers-that-be.
From my conversation with a couple of press people, the same situation was unfolding in other Nebraska counties and it sounds -- at this point (5 pm Saturday) -- that Obama is likely to win the state.
My "guesstimate" is that instead of the few hundred people we had each expected to turn out in our country, there were likely closer to 4 to 5, 000.
What an amazing, remarkable and wonderful demonstration of democracy in action. We are thrilled to have participated.
[ADDENDUM: The final tally was 68% for Obama, 32% for Clinton].