I went to a fundraiser - I expect most there contributed way more than I - in Chevy Chase, Maryland, just a few blocks from the DC line. I wanted to see if I liked him enough to feel he is definitively my candidate. I am still looking for a candidate to make me feel the way Howard Dean made me feel in 2003 - like he was the one I'd been waiting for.
Well, I don't know if I'm there, but then, times have changed. Howard Dean was a lone voice when he spoke up, and we were SO glad to hear it. Nowadays, following Dean's lead, walking through the door he opened, we have more than one good candidate. In a way, it's harder to choose from among them; sometimes their differences seem so small.
So that's why I went. So far I've liked Obama best, but Edwards is good too, and I was impressed by Richardson when I saw him a few weeks ago. Even Hillary, whose politics I don't like and whom I cannot trust as authentic, has said some good stuff.
I liked him. Suffice it to say he remains my top choice.
But here is why I am writing this diary. When he emerged from the house to the yard where the event took place, he shook my hand warmly. I told him I am active in the grassroots - Democracy for America in particular - and told him to be sure to turn to the grassroots and the blogosphere, because there is a great deal of support for him there and because they/we are a force. And here is what he said:
TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO DO
Tell us what we need to do. We can do that, can't we? He is listening.