Election Day 2008!
Pennsylvania (and Ohio) For Barack = Bedtime for Claire
Diary of Election Day 2008 in Bucks County, PA.
One family’s contribution to Change. (Well, not counting the stuff prior to Election Day!)
Still Under Construction – But…
1 AM: Everyone’s hard work over the last months, weeks, days and hours has just given us the chance at reaching for America’s better angels again. The Philly region rocked the vote and brought PA over the finish line! Time to dream (and to sleep.)
Midnight: Complete Exhaustion and the realization that this is real, that We Can and We Could and We Did. Obama is on fire and just humbled by the weight of his well-earned new job. Holy Smokes. Hope is just filling the room, the country and the world and we try to call it a night, but can’t.
11 PM: Jon Stewart interrupts Colbert and announces that Barack Obama is now the President-Elect of the United States of America. We sit there in stunned silence (outside of putting MSNBC back on as if they might verify the “fake” newscasters…)
But here’s how the day started:
8:30 AM: We started the day making hand-made T-shirts with markers. Just a spontaneous “be-the-billboard” family moment. Totally unplanned!
10 AM: Vote Ahoy!
Every Vote Counts! (And comes with a nice red LED dot!)
After a modest 30-minute wait (see below) and pushing the right (er, left) buttons (see above) the two of us who could vote did. (Well, Claire came into the booths and helped push the green button to make it final – she was so excited!) The polling station was packed but moving and folks waited patiently. Turnout by 10AM was at +/- 45% of registered voters. People were very decisive.
10 AM: Not a bad wait and terrific turnout!
That’s right, my name is not Joe, but I am a Voter.
11 AM: Canvassing and GOTVing with the family. Hitting the cul de sac land of suburban Bucks County.
PS: Bucks County is just a wonderful place to live and is as real as anywhere else in this diverse and fine country of ours.
Canvassing Suburban Bucks County (around 11 AM)
Not that we had an intra-family T-shirt competition going on early on, but my wife went for emotional eloquence whilst I did the ironic pop culture reference. Claire was really into the Yes We Can theme.
Canvassing Suburban Bucks County (Family Style!)
More to come about the fun of being on call an hitting 3 polling places in one afternoon/evening…