Today I went down to the Obama Victory 08 headquarters in my town to pick up some yard signs, and had an experience that made me optimistic again about the election. I'd gotten kind of gloomy when I saw how psyched all my Republican neighbors were about Sarah. And then it had been really hard to get the yard signs (note to campaign: does it have to be?).
Now, some would say, why even bother? Our state is supposed to be solidly in the "red" column anyway. The Democrats are spending very little money in this state. (Much to my disappointment. Don’t get me started on that one.) But I think there are more Obama supporters than "they" think here. And that those people need the encouragement to go ahead, to know they are not alone. It’s also important for conservatives to know that not everybody is on their bandwagon. They can’t just slap the "patriotic" or "Christian" label on that garbage they’re selling and get everybody to buy it.
More below...
So I headed over to the Obama HQ, across town, in a mostly black neighborhood next to a housing project. As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw an elderly man shuffling on a walker from the sidewalk toward the building. I drove around to find a parking spot and left my car and walked toward the entrance, and I fell behind this elderly—no, ancient—black man, inching along on a walker. He weighed about 60 pounds and was gray-haired and very frail. He hobbled painfully along and needed help to open the door.
Inside the HQ, there were every description of person (black, white, Hispanic, Asian, you name it) bustling around doing something or looking for help. The little old man in front of me stood in line at the front counter waiting.
When his turn came, he announced to the very young man behind the counter: "I ain’t never voted before."
"Great!" this beaming Joe College guy said. "The forms are on that table over there."
"Well, I ain’t never voted before," whispered the old guy on the walker, leaning in closer.
"Those are registration forms over there on the table," the young man said, glancing at the line getting longer behind the old man. "You’ll need to fill out one of those."
"I don’t..." the old man pointed to his eyes, "...too good." Apparently, he couldn’t see, or read, or both. And was a little embarassed to have to say so in front of that long line. (Plus, he was beginning to look like he couldn’t stand up much longer either.)
Another man stepped out from behind the counter, said, "Let me help you with this." He took the old man by the arm to guide him over to sit at the table. As I left, they had begun to go through the form, line by line.
So here’s the thing that lifted me up. This old man, who could barely walk or see or read, went to the extra effort to go on foot to register to vote for the first time in his long life—to participate in history in the making. (And God bless that man who stopped his work to help him with the form.)
It may seem to some of yall like this election is a slam-dunk. But it sure doesn’t feel like that from where I'm sitting--you need every one of us, I think. But at moments like these, I think: Yes, we can. Yes, all these people who have felt like American politics did not belong to them really are going to turn out. They never voted before but now they are coming out to vote, and they will push Obama over the top to victory in 2008.
So this is a salute to those who never voted before--you will make a difference and change America. Register. Help those you know to register. Thank you.