Prior to the 2008 election season, I was a disenchanted voter. Having only voted twice before, and having both times watched my vote trampled by W and Co., I was starting to think that either this third time was going to be a charm, or it was going to be a knockout blow to my interest in politics. Then along came the senator from Illinois, and for the first time, I was excited to vote for a candidate who I thought would best serve his country, rather than vote against the guy who I thought would best serve his buddies. Of course, I thought Gore and Kerry each to be a clear choice against Bush in the previous elections, but my vote had been driven more than anything by a fear of the damage Dubya would inflict if elected. This election, however, was going to be different.
Obama energized me. He renewed within me the belief that our best days as a nation were ahead of us. This election, I was to cast my vote not out fear, but out of hope. And when I learned that he was going to make a stop in St. Louis during the campaign, there was no question about it, I had to see the man in action.
Follow me now through the tiny orange timewarp portal back to that unforgettable day, four years ago...
Weather-wise, we were in for a pretty pleasant October afternoon for St. Louis, plenty of sun, plenty of sky, and a nice breeze. We parked the car at one of the Metrolink lots about halfway to downtown. (Metrolink is our light-rail system.) We had already expected things to be pretty busy today, and the amount of cars in the lot backed up that suspicion, but we weren't prepared for what we saw when the next train arrived at the station. Standing on the platform, we watched as a sardine-can packed with people slowly rolled up to greet us. I had only ever seen a train this full after a Cards game, and always heading out of the city. If memory serves, they had all the Metrolink traffic pointed toward downtown so as to streamline the influx of people expected that day. Even so, it was asses-to-elbows. We squeezed in and held onto whatever we could as the train took off. People were talking excitedly, some about Obama, some about politics in general, some about the weather, but whatever the topic there was a palpable cheerfulness about each conversation. It was a beautiful day in the city, and Obama was here!
At each stop along the way, those who could find room found a ride. By the time we got to the Arch station, we were packed so tight that it was most definitely outside the bounds of fire marshal recommendations. We peeled ourselves out of the train and moved to join a wide, flowing column of people heading toward the Arch grounds. It was a bit of a hike, but as I mentioned, this was a gem of a day and spirits were high all around. And we were surrounded by good company. People from all slices of the spectrum were converging to hear what this young presidential hopeful wanted to say. I did see a few lonely protesters along the way. I can't remember what their signs said, but not many paid them much mind. I have to give them credit though, as they were very clearly outnumbered in whatever they were arguing about, and still they proudly displayed their grievances.
Not having anticipated the masses that showed up, we didn't start the day uber-early, and for that we ended up near the back of the crowd, the stage far ahead and a bit to the right. We were near the top of the hill beneath the Arch and among the trees. When I could catch a glimpse of Obama through the foliage, he was a small white shirt on the stage. And from where we were, we could barely understand a word coming through the speakers. We struggled to listen, everyone around us keeping quiet. It was a peaceful scene in our little wood, hushed, not unlike a small auditorium, each of us listening intently to Obama's cadence, grabbing onto a word here and a phrase there. He was fired up, and that fire caught quickly on the Arch lawn. And whenever the crowd erupted, we broke our silence and hooted and hollered our part for the Among-The-Trees delegation. I didn't catch much of the speech, but the moment had all the magic and significance in it that I needed. There were an estimated 100,000 people who showed up that day to hear what Senator Obama had to say. In any city, that's a pretty big deal, but this was red-state Missouri.
We didn't have the best spot in which to see Obama nor to hear him very well, but our location made it very easy to leave the Arch grounds after he finished charging up the crowd. When we were about a block into the city we stopped to talk about what to do for lunch. Our jaws dropped as we turned around to see the torrent of people cresting the Arch hill and flowing toward us. The people behind us, the horde, began to pour out of the Arch grounds. And by pour I mean this was a human river that began to rival Ol' Muddy herself. And it was a river of smiles and holiday jubilation.
It was very clear that we had better get moving if we were to avoid being consumed by the current. We quickly decided to walk a few blocks up and grab some cajun food at the Broadway Oyster Bar (excellent crawfish etouffee!). The place was packed, as expected, but not as bad as the places we passed along the way. Once we got a table, it was hard telling where our table began and our neighbors' ended, it was so tight. We were having a great time with it though, meeting each other, talking Obama-talk. Every few minutes the Yes-We-Can!'s overcame the din of conversation, and I remember seeing a guy wearing an American flag cape with Obama's logo in place of the stars. Everyone was visibly pumped full of optimism. In this sea of red, we were loudly claiming our little blue island. It was indisputable. This was Obama's town.
I still believe this is Obama's town. And I still believe that Missouri can get back to purple. If St. Louis and KC and Columbia really turn out, we may be able to even flip this state this time around. But we need to harken back to the electricity we all felt that October, and not just in Missouri but across the nation, in all states red and blue. Let's race across this finish line, not resting until we're over it, pushing even harder than we did four years ago!
Show-Me your vote!