Because I am developing my own small business ("Joe the Consultant") I don't have the time to call or canvass on behalf of Senator Obama. I have contributed financially as much as my business and I can, but guilt is a powerful motivator even so. As a result of feeling inadequate, especially in light of what so many others are giving up to drive this race to the end, I contacted the Obama office in Manassas, Virginia, part of Prince William County, to see what they might need in the way of snacks, drinks, moral support, etc.
My wife and young son accompanied me as we delivered enough snacks (healthy stuff - granola bars, organic crackers, fruit, and so on) to feed the Egyptian army. Turns out it might not be enough to get through the day. The small house in downtown Manassas was overflowing - people cascading down the steps getting their canvassing kits, volunteers crammed into every room manning phones, data entry being done in each empty nook, and volunteers trying to coordinate maybe twenty people who just showed up this morning to see what they could do. The place oozed hope, confidence, passion and joy. After we delivered our goods, my wife on her own volunteerd to work Monday night's scheduled rally near us. As for me, I had tears in my eyes.
My son suggested we drive around the corner to see what was up at McCain headquarters. He predicted that there'd probably only be a handful of people, and that all of them would be outside smoking. It seems he was being optimistic. We drove by to find no more than five people seated inside listening to some sort of presentation, and none of them looked very happy - unsmiling people in straight-backed chairs.
Prince William County is a traditionally Republican area, with changing demographics that are building a broader Democratic base. The area has been targeted by both sides as critical to holding Virginia. But you'd not know it from contrasting the two campaigns here. During the past week I received no fewer than five calls from Obama's volunteers, which triggered the guilt that led to today's mission. I have not received so much as a robo-call from McCain. And the spirit in the Obama office was palpable, one of the most remarkable displays of passion and commitment I have ever seen, as compared to the funereal, going-through-the-motions atmosphere at Republican headquarters.
Do we have Prince William County, and, with it, Virginia? There's no way to be certain until Tuesday night, and there's certainly no room to be smug. But the energetic, committed, and, yes, courageous people who overfilled headquarters this morning shone a light of hope that was nothing short of brilliant.
I insisted that my son, who is ten, come along, and he did so willingly. I want him to remember what he saw, and what he felt. I want him to know that in a very real way he was touching history. When we left, he told me that he wanted to do it all again tomorrow, that he wanted to help Barack over the top. I told him we would.
And I told him, too, that this election was for him.