countdown to history

With just hours to go until the first results of the election are known, I find myself nervously waiting as though I was an expectant father in the waiting room enduring a 22 month long labor. Oh my gawd, it is almost here. The moment of truth. The crowd is already massing in downtown Chicago for the Obama election night rally. The excitement around town, in anticipation of the outcome is electric. Yet the outcome is as yet not known. We have donated several times to the Obama campaign, more money than we've given to all other campaigns combined. And it appears that all of our donations are being wisely used.

I spent Sunday in Gary Indiana walking door to door to help get out the vote. It was an extraordinary experience. As I walked through one of the poorest neighborhoods in America, I was touched by so many people's enthusiasm for Obama, and gratitude that a suburban white from Chicago would come to their neighborhood for this cause. I was invited in for dinner, embraced, celebrated as we shared the same hope for a better day for our country, and excitement that their vote really counts this time. Indiana is poised to be a state no longer considered as a Republican stronghold. Not a red state, not a blue state, but truly apart of these United States. Mary, Ryder's godmother, and I drove to the Gary office of the Obama campaign and arrived to find 100s of volunteers fanning out to canvass the city. We were dispatched to the south Broadway office on the very southern edge of the city and arrived with dozens of other volunteers, most of whom had come from the Chicago area for the day to help. We were given instructions and told that our goal was to get out the vote. Early voting in Indiana doesn't end until noon today (Monday) and most folks didn't know they could still vote early. The lines for early voting were pretty long in downtown Gary, so folks were being shuttled to other sites with shorter waits. When we went door to door, if we talked with people who needed a ride to vote, we took their names and numbers and the campaign was going to dispatch volunteers to take them to vote. Mary and I covered about a 10 block area in 4 hours probably knocking on over 300 doors. A dozen or so folks were pleased to know they could vote early and we gave them instructions. Many folks had already voted and the majority said they were going to vote on Tuesday. They said they were going to school at the end of the block first thing Tuesday to vote. They were grateful and receptive. As our tour continued we ended up in the projects and it was rather dicey. I covered one side of the street while Mary covered the other, and I kept her in eye contact the whole time. The further north we got on Pierce street the worse it got, until finally we began to feel vulnerable and conspicuously not from that neighborhood. I went down a few steps to a basement apartment and just as I was about to knock the door burst open and a cloud of pot smoke came billowing out. Three African Americans came staggering out and were very surprised to see me standing there. I said "I'm with the Obama campaign" and I sensed their relief. I retreated up the stairs as they all said yah yah yah we are going to vote. Voting was the last things on their mind's right then so I beat a hasty retreat. I never felt threatened, but understood the precariousness of the situation. Across the street a few doors up I was greeted warmly by person after person who was carrying covered dishes into one house. One gent invited me in for dinner and Christian fellowship. he said they all get together every Sunday to share a meal, that way everyone gets to eat. He was such a lovely guy, I was tempted to accept his invite just to share in their community. He assured me they had all voted our would vote on Tuesday. And he blessed me for the effort I was making that day on their behalf.

I heard one pundit say that Jesus Christ was a community organizer. As was Mahatma Gandhi-- and this community was organized. It was impressive, I mean really impressive to see grass roots politics at work. And this was just one precinct in one city. All across the county tens of thousands of folks are on the sidewalk going door to door in support of the Obama campaign. Who ever doubted his executive experience should think twice. For the Obama organization to have mobilized over 3 million supporters each reaching out to every corner of the country, is an astounding act of administration. We crossed paths with the steel workers union and the SEIU who had also deployed their members to get out the vote. People in Indiana are so excited, it was very encouraging. I have heard so much vitriol and hate from the McCain campaign, all they inspired is negativity. Obama has remained above the fray, unflappable, steady.

I was just talking with my lab manager who was an avowed non-voter with no interest in politics for the 04 election. She is totally engaged and was making arrangements to be late tomorrow because she has to vote where she was registered when she lived at home, not at her current address. All of my students, generation Y, the 20-30 year olds are all wildly enthusiastic and are going to vote-- and are doing all they can do to get out the vote. The youth vote has not appeared in the polling and has been dismissed because though they are registered, they are not considered as likely to vote. Not this time. I am so excited that I am having a hard time working today!

it will be quite a historic , to be sure-- regardless of the outcome. But only in my darkest fears do I still worry that those Republicans are going to pull something off. But we are going to let them steal this election, no way.

It was such a shame that Obama's grandmother died yesterday, on the very eve of the election. Obama said that the biggest mistake he ever made was not going to see his mother to say goodbye before she died of ovarian cancer. He was not going to make the same mistake with his grandmother. Knowing how deeply affected Mr. Obama is by ovarian cancer, having lost his mother to it makes me feel so proud that I have now devoted my work to this dreaded disease. Funding and support for biomedical research will surely be much improved in the Obama administration. The whole world will sigh a huge collective exhalation of relief once Barack is elected. For surely there are hundreds of millions of people the world around who are holding their breath right now, waiting for the election results.

Hope dawns anew tonight when Barack Obama wins the election. I can not even begin to wrap my mind around the other outcome. Hope, not fear will carry the day.