A Day That Will Go Down In History

Nov 4, 2008

Election Day, 2008. This will be one to remember. The day we turned our country around and saved our world. I really believe that. Don't get me wrong. I don't believe that Barack Obama is our saviour. No I don't. He's a great candidate but he's not perfect and I never believed that he was. For example, it's a little frightening that he wants to leave Iraq (Yes!) only to step up the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan (No! - yet another quagmire in the making and how the hell you gonna save the economy, give our people health care and decent schools, invest in alternative forms of energy -- all that while you're waging a new war in Afghanistan?? Get real!) And his health care plan, while far better than McCain's (if McCain actually has one)doesn't go nearly far enough - truth be told we need Single Payer Health Care like most of the rest of the industrialized world.

No, Obama, as good as he is and as progressive as most of his program is, is not a saviour. But here's what is true about a vote for Obama -- It's the people stupid! That's right - it's the fabulous and unprecedented movement of our people - Black, brown, white and united - that has surrounded and propelled his campaign - Therein is the promise of great things to come.

The fight will begin tomorrow because the Right, defeated and disgraced, is not going away any time soon. You can rest assured that they will be doing their dirty best (as only they know how) to demean Barack Obama for the next four years; to lay down as many obstacles as they can possibly find; to bring phony charges against him (as they did to Bill Clinton for years) to the extent that they can. But I believe that the movement of people that has been born in this historic campaign can be the bulwark of opposition to that mean-spirited force and push our country in the direction that it must go if we are all to survive and prosper in the years ahead.

So here's what we must do - We must find our voices. We must organize. We must let the Democrats, newly-empowered, know what we want. And we must not relax until we win what is needed to set our country on a new course of progress.

~~~

We awoke at 6 a.m. this morning, dressed and walked outside. Already we knew something was up. People were streaming down our usually quiet street. When we arrived at P.S. 9, two blocks away, the line was enormous. It stretched from the school entrance on Underhill Avenue, half a block south to the corner of St. Marks Place and then half-way down St. Marks. Wow!

It took us just over an hour to vote! A word to the wise: know your Assembly District and Election District before you get on line- you'll save yourself some time inside by not having to have a poll worker look it up for you via your address. Our neighborhood had one of the highest concentrations of Obama voters in the primary so it was no surprise. But the excitement, the determination of voters, the energy were all palpable standing on that line. I suspect that this will be duplicated throughout the country even in so-called Red states. That is why I can optimistically write this post today, before any results are in. I know that we are on the cusp of great and exciting times over the next four years.

Go Obama! We will be the wind behind your back. We will push you on to greatness if you listen to our voices for change!

P.S. One last thing - if you're a NY State voter - you can make your Obama vote even more meaningful by pulling the lever on ROW E - the Working Families party. This serves notice that your vote should not be taken for granted and that it's a vote for an end to the war and against any new wars. It's a vote that says you expect and demand a change in priorities away from war spending to spending for jobs, schools, health care and affordable housing and that you want a bailout not for the greedy banks and stock firms but for working folk. Voting on Row E, thus, stands out from all the other votes for Obama yet still goes into the same total count for your candidate! Thanks - Matt

It took us an hour to vote. The line stretched around P.S. 9 on Underhill Avenue around the corner of St. Mark's Place and way down the block. Unprecedented. It was 6:30 a.m.

Parents brought their children along to share in the history of today's vote.

Swinging on the scaffolding while daddy waited on long lines to vote.

Occupying your time while waiting on line to vote.

Yes! Omigod- even the NY Post! Wassup with that?