Yes We Did!-- Tues., Nov. 4

I’m trying to memorialize it all. It still feels very surreal. Here’s my best shot:

I woke up nervous. I haven’t felt this personally about a candidate for president, well, ever. It was hard to focus on work. I got home around 5 and had a drink to calm down. Ethan and I traded texts for hours afterwards. I couldn’t stop watching the pundits on cable news. It all just made me more nervous.
Tim and I headed down to meet Laura and her friend Sarah before heading to Grant Park. The plan was meet for a drink, watch some returns, then head over to the park. The train had plenty of Obama supporters already on it. We met the girls at Cardozo’s Pub in the Loop. I had a beer. Still nervous. Sarah mentioned the idea of Obama losing. Still nervous. So we had a couple of shots. 3 to be exact. Then the east coast started coming in. Pennsylvania was blue. Maybe it was that. Or the conversation with friends. Or the booze. But I was feeling better.

Laura, Sarah, Me & Tim w shot Number 1.

Laura, Sarah & Me w shot Number 2.

With a buzz on, we headed to Grant Park. We stopped so that Sarah could take a pee break and man in the street sang “A Change Is Gonna Come” to us. I though he just might be right. We made our way over to Michigan Ave. And there was the mass of people. There were street vendors selling t-shirts, buttons, hats. People were already cheering, singing. There was a literal buzz (and not the alcohol induced type). I was feeling even better.

Laura & Me on our way to Grant Park.

We got to the park. We had been warned about long lines and security. There were a lot of people. But no security. They checked my ID and that was it. No metal detectors, no pat downs, no going through bags. A little bizarre. But the crowd was happy and diverse and friendly. So it didn’t really worry me. Probably should have. But we just picked a spot on the field and started watching results on the big screen. He was north of 200 electoral votes. It was the best I’d felt in a long time.

"Badgers 4 Obama" pin

They called Virginia blue and I jumped up and down. And a few minutes after that—they called the election. Jumping, cheering, crying. Poor Laura couldn’t see the big screen and so couldn’t quite believe that they called the election. It felt like seconds later that McCain made his concession speech. It was a very respectful speech and I was glad that the crowd around me was equally respectful. The only boos were actually for Sarah Palin. And then we just started waiting for Obama!

Tim & me after the election was called.

Here I should note: I’ve been a Democrat my whole life. My parents aren’t and they always wonder where they went wrong. I actually blame them and the Catholic schools they sent me to. I may no longer believe in many of the Catholic doctrines, but my schools instilled a sense of service in me that’s fairly ingrained. And I want that sense of service in my gov’t. So I would have voted for Obama regardless. But his intelligence, thoughtfulness and eloquence stirred something new in me. I’ll let the New York Times explain with more detail why I’m an Obama fan: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/24/opinion/24fri1.html But when I was waiting for Obama to come out, I was thinking about the personal, about people in my life. I knew Kim was crying somewhere too. I knew Eva was in the crowd. I knew Ethan was relieved. My only wish for last night was that all my friends who wanted to be there could have been. A celebration like that you share with as many loved ones as possible. Luckily I had Tim and Laura.
Back to the show-- A minister came out and said a beautiful prayer. The National Anthem. The Pledge of Allegiance. Then the first family came out. The crowd went nuts. The speech was beautiful. Obama has been mocked for his eloquence. For his “fancy” words. But I’m of the belief that words matter. That intelligence in a President is a good thing. I want my President to use words to make me want to be a better citizen, to bring out the best in me, to stir me, to inspire me. And that’s what he did Tueday night.

The First Family

"If there is still any doubt"

"Yes We Can"

They played Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising” as we left the park. I danced and sang down the field. There were huge crowds leaving. The L ride was a long one home. We were tired and dreading the next workday. But man, oh, man…

Black & White. Young & Old

Leaving the park

A few random things:

• Everyone was texting and calling and then all of a sudden signals seemed to be jammed and no on could use their phones. I wanted to tell my friends about what was going on, thank Kim for getting VA to go blue, remind Weis it was bc of us that IN was blue, but I couldn’t!
• On the L ride home, there were 4 young guys talking about getting home and ordering pizza. I knew they were young but then they mentioned that the delivery should go to Monroe Hall and it was official—they were DePaul students. So cool that they spent the night w Obama and then home to a party pizza (apparently it’s a HUGE pizza).
• There was a big police presence downtown but I didn’t see any trouble. Lots of police on horseback. The weird thing—people taking pictures w the horses. Oh and the helicopters everywhere! Kind of cool.