Iowa Watch and Analysis ...
Barack Obama supporters watching Iowa caucus returns from Reno, NV.
Well kids, it's the end of the first primary/caucus of 2008 and Sen. Barack Obama garnered (at last count) 38 percent of Iowa Democrats with former Senator John Edwards at 30 percent and Sen. Hillary Clinton in third place with 29 percent. The official numbers, according to the Iowa Democractic Party, are:
Obama : 37.58%
Edwards : 29.75%
Clinton : 29.47%
Amazing news this week for a campaign that has worked tirelessly for a man who can inspire not just the most disaffected and downcast to vote, but who can inspire something greater: hope.
When I arrived on the scene, the first T-shirt slogan that caught my eye was a woman sporting a black tee with white print: "Got Hope?" and I expected to see an endorsement for liberal Christianity and instead, read below and saw "Vote Obama." Not being one to compare any human to my Savior, I can only imagine that the kind of hope we saw tonight for the United States was only a slight fraction of the hope those early Christians felt for the world.
From the beginning, Obama's campaign was a ground campaign, making contact with every voter in every state by those voters' neighbors. We eschew the idea hiring paid canvassers and phone bankers from other states. We build, just as Obama did, from the ground up because we can easily be a political machine that courts and woos national organizations for their endorsement and turn out lists every day of their support, but in the end, we connect with our neighbors and friends. We engage in discussion about Obama's positions and stances and ultimately leave in the knowledge that he is the best our country has put forth in leadership.
Yes, we can talk and boast about national accomplishments and experience in Washington, but Obama has experience in connecting with people on a personal level and even when he was elected to national office, refusing lobbyist money. As Obama said, "They think they own this country, let's show them who really owns America!" We are a nation no more of blind followers who are told-to about who the Bad Guy is and where we can find him for the right price. We are a more intelligent and engaged society who dares to hope, not just for a better tomorrow, but for a day after and a week after and year after and a generation after.
When CNN declared Obama the winner of the caucus, I immediately called my friend Jonah, who is a self-described "Conservative Republican," and he told me that he didn't make it to the Republican caucus because of car-troubles. When I further inquired, he said his new car, a 2001 Chevy Impala, was in the shop and his old car was not reliable to get to his caucus. When I further inquired why he A. scheduled his new car for maintenance on Caucus Day and B. didn't find a way to his Republican Caucus, he simply said, "Eh, Huckabee won and my candidate never stood a chance." It was then when I remembered how energized this candidate and cause so inspired me to get to every event, canvass, phone bank and ultimately, my caucus, come hell or high water.
In Iowa, Sen. Obama garnered nearly half of the 18-25 year-old vote with Edwards in second and Sen. Clinton with no percentage of the youth vote. This speaks only to one thing, hope isn't just a buzzword, it's a result. More young Iowans supported Obama than any other candidate because he doesn't just invest in the future, he believes in us. He "pledges to build a movement of millions of Americans like you to change Washington ... " and we have pledged to honor that promise. Obama isn't just another carpetbagger with delusions of grandeur and profit for himself, just look at the latest Hollywood salaries and you'll see the job of president is a passion. He has a passion for America and is dedicated to its restoration and change, against Washington's stagnant ways of doing politics as usual, no matter how many year's are spent there.
As one great writer once observed, he is, "a breath of fresh air," that's much needed in these United States and I invite you to hope and take that breath.
These are our people, milling around and schmoozing for Obama.
This is my amazing, campaign friend Steph. She calls this look her "delirious" look.
I think we were all going around this way all night.
Look at that!
This is the giant calendar of volunteers, all from Reno-Sparks, on every day of the weeks until our own caucus. Paid canvassers and phone bankers be damned, our support is home-grown.
One of our fearless leaders giving us a pep-talk before Barack was declared the victor.
Steph and I were glued to this laptop all night.
It was a live feed from the Iowa Democratic Party Web site.
This is the Washoe County Dems Treasurer. He was, "officially," not supposed to declare his support for any single candidate, but realized that Barack was the best candidate to support, even if it was a little early in the season. He shared a story about walking his dog at 7 a.m. Thursday morning. He always asks his dog, "You ready to go?" and his dog always jumps and gets excited. Thursday morning, he asked his dog our motivational phrase, "READY TO GO? FIRED UP! READY TO GO?" and his dog, in true Dem dog fashion, got fired up. We'll still be re-electing him treasurer.
Obama Supporters: It's like a Benneton ad, but this time, it's genuine. Young, Old, White, Black, Asian, Native, gay, straight, we were all there to watch with anticipation.
This is Sheila Leslie, Nevada Assemblywoman for District 27 showing her passionate support for Sen. Obama. Seriously, she is an asset and a half. Most legislators just give their name and back away into the shadows, Assemblywoman Leslie is one of the most active volunteers for the Obama campaign, she's a precinct leader, she canvasses and she's hosting a New Hampshire watch party in her home and, after her daughter leaves to go back to school, she's opening her home to a campaign intern.
My friend, Steph, once again.
Like I said, we were glued to the monitor and laptop, counting each one-tenth and one-hundredth percentage point that Barack went up by and by which, Edwards and Hillary went down.
Also, there was a photog from the RGJ there and was enamored of her shirt.
They say, "Obama for America," we say AMERICA FOR OBAMA!
This was a nice couple, trading barbs when John "I'm Really Straight" Edwards was giving his speech.