Inspiration for the masses ...
Sen. Obama made his campaign stop in Reno today and I was one of the lucky ones who got to hear him speak.
This was no ordinary stump speech/I-need-your-vote affair. This was an exultation of voters, period. He even said that even if Nevadans who are undecided are still undecided, to caucus anyway, to make their voices heard and to be counted. This is where I kind of lost it and started tearing up. One of the things I've been doing for anyone who answers my calls or knocks on their doors, even if they support Sen. Clinton or John Edwards is telling them and making sure they know where their caucus locations are. I've been feeling mixed about doing so, if they're going to caucus, I'd like it to be for Obama but too many times in this country's not-so-distant past have people been misinformed, misdirected and outright lied to about being able to vote or caucus. When Obama reinforced my idea that making sure the vote and the caucus are electoral sacred ground, I knew I'd chosen correctly.
He touched on how he's been criticized for talking about hope and nothing else, about how he's been called a "hopemonger" and we laughed furiously. There really are worse things to be called, especially in American politics. Obama spoke about not just setting the trend for change, but his plans of action for those changes. He made the commitment to push through health care reform, not in 10 years, not in five years, but in the first year of his presidency, if he's elected.
When the Republicans and Independents identified themselves during the rally, he praised them and we applauded their ability to meet us Democrats half way on the issues, to see past party lines and understand that nothing ever gets done when we're stuck behind our lines, drawn in the sand.
So many times during this campaign, I've wanted to rack my head against a wall from the ignorance, hatred and indifference and say, "What's the point." Obama has reassured me that this path is not an easy one, especially for him -- to face down cynics and self-described realists and people who would rather not just be proven wrong -- but it is a path toward something greater that we're starting upon. It's a path to energy, change and regaining a sense of ourselves as Americans that he's offering. And we go, willingly, into the breach because something has to be better than where we are now, we just have to strive and find the courage within ourselves to dream it and make it a reality.
Steph and I ... we were completely out of our minds.
Our fearless organizers doing their skit on how to canvass.
(They look a little boy-bandish.)
I stood for change.
Good gravy, I stood for hours.
The hope of a generation in Barack Obama.
The man who will lead us into restoration.
As Obama finished speaking, he turned to us in the back and smiled. And then, for a brief instant, we locked eyes and he waved, I assumed at someone else. Then, my friend Steph turned to me and said, "You know he was waving at you, right?"
(P.S. It was five kinds of awesome to be seated directly behind Obama. Once I showed my volunteer ticket, they ushered me onto the risers along with my friend Steph. Who knew volunteering at a tireless pace would get you up close and personal?
I also got to shake hands with Barack Obama and when he looked at me and said, "Thank you," I started tearing up even more.)