I simply couldn't wait until November 4th. I rushed down after work today to vote for Barack Obama, on the first day of early voting in Colorado. I had to be first, or in this case, the 99th voter at my local early voting polling place.
I've waited 28 years plus for the opportunity to vote in an election for a candidate in whom I truly believed.
So in my happy moment, allow me to share my personal voting odyssey.
Flash back to 1996. I was 16 and unable to vote. I supported Clinton because at that point I was a strict Democratic supporter without any real mature thoughts of my own. What I did think was that Clinton just didn't do enough for me. His "new" Democratic stylings were more centrist than progressive.
Flash ahead to 2000. I supported Gore but only because Bush scared the hell out of me. I considered myself way more progressive than Gore, which was true since Gore's handlers strategized Gore straight into a loss. Pluss, Gore was too symbolically connected to Clinton for my tastes. I, like many others at the time, wanted to move on to something new after the Clinton years. I just didn't want Bush. Like my Dad said at the time, I figured Bush would set us as a country back 50 years. How right was that?
Flash forward to 2004. Kerry was a weak candidate, but I rallied around him like anyone else who was part of the "Anyone but Bush" crowd. I didn't really care for Kerry, but no one in the primaries, other than maybe Edwards, had excited me.
So I found myself watching the Democratic convention in 2004. We all know it now, the "where were you when" moment when Obama gave the stirring speech. I know where I was, sitting at home, thinking, "Damn, if he ever runs for President, he's got my vote."
When Obama declared he was running for President back in early 2007, I knew I had to be a part of the movement he was creating. I hadn't really reflected on how long I had been an Obama supporter until I was checking through my old e-mails yesterday while looking for an old password. I found the first e-mail from the Obama campaign thanking me for donating to their campaign.
It was April 2007, and it was only 25 bucks. But it meant a whole lot to me. And since then, I've volunteered a whole lot of time and a lot of money, for me, as well.
I don't say this to brag in the slightest; rather, I wanted to proclaim my absolute pleasure at finally picking a candidate who just might see this thing through to victory on Election Day. All the ups, all the downs of the campaign and I found myself at today, October 20, the first day of early voting in Colorado.
So take a wild guess where I found myself today after work (I am a teacher). I went to my local library to vote. Long story short, I went through the entire (very long) ballot in about 10 minutes. Upon reviewing the ballot, I found myself going over and over again the name at the top of the ballot. To me, it felt like I had finally realized the promise of our democratic society.
Needless to say, I was extremely happy. So happy that I came out of that library with, yes, a few tears welling up. I was thinking of how nice it would be to tell my kids and grandkids (someday WAY down the line) the story of the 2008 election. I even stuck the little "I Voted" sticker they gave me to my phone so I could show it off.
So here's to me, voter #99 at that library today, and to those 98 voters before me. I hope you were as happy with your vote as I was with mine.
I've personally done my part in this election, but I'll still be out there volunteering between now and Election Day. I'm sure I'll give a little bit more money as well. I hope you do the same and feel the same when you vote as I do today.