Almost Over...

This was the cold day in Feb. 2007 when Barack Obama announced his candidacy in Springfield, Illinois.














Obama cleaning up after himself at an ice cream shop. (His mother would be proud and grandmother, too.)














Staff passed this bar and did two pull-ups before him, so he stopped and did three...before going out to make a speech.














Shades of Adlai Stevenson's (famous photo). I wonder how many pairs he wore out over the course of this campaign?

First Time Voter!

I met a first time voter today. Not just any first time voter. She is a middle aged woman, an immigrant from South America, who came here several years ago and became a US citizen earlier this year.

She saw my Obama button as I walked through the grocery store on my way to pick up three lemons. As I passed, she grabbed my arm and immediately started to tell me why she also supported Obama. I was in hurry, but the sparkle in her eye as she talked about Obama told me I should listen.

It turns out she knew a lot about both campaigns. She had been listening to both sides closely. The first thing she wanted to say was, “I can’t vote for McCain because he chose a woman who is not very smart to run with him. She doesn’t seem to know anything about anything. And how can he think she is ready to be President? He is an old man…and sick…and he needed to name someone much younger, someone people know about, someone who could help him right away.”

Her voice slowed a bit as she talked about Obama but lost none of its fervor. “Obama seems like a man you can trust. He seems like a man who cares about everybody. Obama seems like a man with a good heart…AND he fills my heart with hope.” I could see a tear starting to well up. “America is the hope of the world; everybody I know wants to come to America. It is the land of opportunity. You can be what you want to be. I love America. “She paused, and then added, “Please tell me Obama will win!”

Clearly she has paid more attention to this race than many Americans who have voted many times.

I told the lady from South America she was not alone in her exuberance. I assured her she was about to vote for a candidate who possessed the personal integrity, raw intellect, life experience and good judgment necessary to lead all of us as President. She liked that. I hope we don’t disappoint her.

Does my vote count? Will it make a difference?

537 votes. That’s how many votes in Florida ultimately determined the election of George Bush in 2000. (I know; I, too, get a sinking feeling in my stomach each time I recall that unfortunate day for America.)

Don’t let anyone you know skip tomorrow. It may be the most important voting day in American history.

If you have someone in your family under the age of 35, I implore you to CALL THEM and urge them to vote as if their future depends on it…because it does.

[Photo: Obama speaks in pouring Philadelphia rain. McCain canceled his appearance that day.]

VOTE!

Miracle of America

This photo was made by my daughter, Katherine, during a tour of the Miracle of America American Museum in Polson, Montana (sort of a "Smithsonian Museum West").



If there was ever a time for this sign to be posted everywhere, it is TODAY.

Almost time to...........GO TO WORK!

No celebration should be planned. There is stil work to do...and after the winner is declared, it will be time for all of us to redouble our efforts to take back this republic and make it work for all of us, not just a select few.

As of this morning, it appears Barack Obama will carry "swing states" Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada. Although he is ahead in Ohio and Florida, it would be premature to count them (although I feel better about Ohio this morning).

Indiana, North Carolina, and Missouri will be interesting to watch because the candidates are in a virtual tie right now...BUT, and it is an important but, those three states are not likely to change the outcome. And that is the good news.

But wait, there's more. The really good news is: Arizona, John McCain's home state, is now considered a very real "toss-up" state...as opposed to a "wishful thinking toss-up" state.

An interesting side note to think about today: late polls that include cell phone users have Obama up nationally 9.4 points as compared to landline users only that have Obama ahead just 5.1 points.

National Erratum

Apparently, Sarah Palin has never read the Constitution for she does not have even a fundamental grasp of the rights protected. She asserted on the campaign trail last week that media criticism of her may be a violation of her right to free speech.

Wrong, Sarah.

It is the First Amendment that protects everyone’s right to free speech, and especially the right of a free press to criticize those charged with the responsibility of upholding the US Constitution. Sarah, please read it once or at least ask someone to explain it to you. (I prefer that you not ask your husband, who has previously only demonstrated his interest in having Alaska secede from the Union.)

PS Note to founders: I’m sorry, Mr. Madison, we are not doing our best right now. Please apologize to Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams for us, too.

"Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide"

We now stand 232 years removed from the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The government that followed that declaration left us a magnificent heritage. In the dynamic of history, it is not possible to return to those times, much as many of our friends in the opposition party would like to. I say that because they have insisted for decades that government is too big.

Government is big today because the country is big (300 million citizens as opposed to just 2.5 million in 1776). And the government is big because it takes a big government to serve the citizens. Citizens, for the sake of the Union and for the common good, give their taxes to government, asking only that government administer responsibly the many and diverse programs that serve them. If the programs don’t serve the people, it is up to the people to elect representatives to change them.

But go back? No, not possible. So politicians, please stop promising a smaller government. You don’t mean it; you couldn’t deliver it if you did.

Times change. Circumstances differ, but it still remains possible to build upon the great heritage our founders left us. How many times have I heard a politician say, “The responsibility of each succeeding generation is not to exhaust our inheritance, but to replenish it?” I would add, “And to expand upon it.” Because that is part of our responsibility as citizens.

Barack Obama will be our next President. It will be up to him – AND US – to expand upon our founders’ legacy.The way will not be easy. The decisions at home and abroad will be difficult. I have no doubt that Obama and his administration will not shrink from the task at hand.

What is the role for each of us?

In this day when we are reluctantly counting the declining assets in our bank accounts, and when we are tempted to dwell only on the flaws in the fabric of our nation, it is time to count our blessings and to recommit ourselves to getting this nation back on track. In that great protestant hymn by James Russell Lowell, the opening line reminds us, “Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide.” This is that moment for our generation.

The choice we make on November 4 will send a message to all that America’s government remains “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We stand as a witness to the entire world that freedom is not a blessing to be taken for granted, where justice is promoted equally throughout the land, where the rights inherent in our Constitution are not to be dismissed but held sacrosanct, and where the promise of a brighter tomorrow is considered imminently achievable for every citizen.