As most of us are aware, John McCain held a rally in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio today on the campus of Capital University. I am self-employed, and my business' bank is located within a block or two of that location. To be honest, I had forgotten that there was going to be a rally there until I found myself in bumper-to-bumper traffic while out on my daily bank errand and lunch break.
I was trapped for 8 to 10 minutes behind a large, white painter's van and next to an old Chevette whose driver was playing her radio annoyingly loud. During that time, I found myself peering out the window watching McCain's crowd.
It was then that something hit me.
I attended Obama's rally here in the Columbus area on August 30, and his crowd was vastly different from the one that came out to support McCain and Palin.
Of course, there was a difference in the size of the crowd and in the thickness of the traffic, but the most notable differences were found when I checked out the kinds of people who were there to see McCain and Palin. As his crowd was dispersing, I noticed that all of his supporters looked alike. His crowd was mostly made of older, white, professional-types... I didn't see one person that might fit into the category of a minority.
Obama's crowd was a beautifully mixed bunch of Caucasians, African Americans, Latinos, Asians and Middle Easterners. The Obama group consisted of people who seemed to have fit into every range of the economic spectrum. There were also young people and older people there, all singing and dancing to the music and sitting side-by-side in the bleachers.
McCain's group walked to their cars slothfully, frowning as they journeyed down Main Street. It looked like an on-foot funeral convoy. Obama's group left his rally energized and smiling. We talked with one another after the rally even though we were strangers, and the chants continued as we walked out of the stadium gate: "Yes We Can! Yes We Can!"
As I sat in my 8-minute traffic jam, I felt a little more proud of my candidate than I think I have before. I felt proud that he represents so many of us in so many different ways- and I appreciated the feeling of togetherness that has become stronger among Americans since his bid for the Oval Office began.
I just wanted to record those thoughts here today. Thanks for reading Stella's diary.