It's been a long campaign, and it's been a tough 4 years on the road back to recovery for many in this country. And while Obama hasn't always done everything I agree with, he's impacted this country in overwhelmingly positive ways. With only one more day to go before the election, I thought everyone on this site could use a little inspiration.
I'm not sure if y'all remember where you were or what you were doing 4 years ago on election night, but I remember after 9 months of volunteering for the then candidate Obama, I had to throw a party. I had taken Wednesday off from work, and invited just about everyone I knew over to my smallish 1 BR apt. in Minneapolis. I had 3 cases of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale and a couple bombers of Hail to the Chief (great hoppy microbrews if you're into that stuff) hours after casting my vote for Obama. I remember how excited I was when I walked into the polling booth to mark my support for him. I remember my hand shaking when I marked it, worried that I would fuck it up and not have it count. As a person of color, I remember the pride I felt for being able to hopefully see this man ascend to the highest position in the land, overcoming so many systemic barriers. I remember the deep emotions I felt in the voting booth.
And then the following happened. It's a 10 minute clip from MSNBC that night. I just watched it and it brought me to tears all over again. Not just because of how hard I had worked for him, but the MONUMENTAL significance of the moment for not just people of color, but all of their majority allies (many on this site) - for those who believed (believe) in the core value of inclusivity.
I thought you all would enjoy it as much as I did, especially that Keith got to make the call. The first 4 or so minutes is the panel talking about the historic quality of what was about to happen when the west coast came in, the next 6 are pretty much just pure bliss.
I remember me and all my friends having a literal dance party, hugging each other, cheering, imbibing. Over the night 15-20 made their way to my place or left to go to other parties. My chest was so tight with emotion, I was in disbelief at times. I know that it may not be as intense this time, because some of the historical context just can't be replicated - but it sure will be just as sweet.
So just one more day to GOTV, hopefully this inspires those last few phone calls and door knocks out there.
Thanks for the instructions to embed the video