evolution of a vote

Early this past February, as I made my way to the Super Tuesday Alaska Democratic Caucus, I wasn't sure who I would support in this election. I parked my car almost a mile from Begich Middle School and began walking past the cars that lined the road, all on their way to caucus. It was the longest traffic jam I've ever seen in Anchorage. Inside the school, things were even more chaotic.

In the small gymnasium it was find your precinct, take a card, wait a long time, then disperse to your designated classroom. For my precinct, almost half of us couldn't fit in the room! While I was excited about the process and the enthusiastic turnout, I left the school without casting a vote and feeling dismayed that I had missed the speeches that should have swayed my vote.

Later that month, as I headed off to a trip overseas, I took Barack Obama's book Dreams from my Father. I didn't have much time to read it until the end of the trip when I stayed with my parents for a week in Wisconsin. I kept remembering the optimism of a shopkeeper in Rome telling me that, based on astrology and my earth sign, this was a good year for me and this was also a good year for Obama. (I haven't really evaluated my year, but his has been going pretty well.)

As candidates left the race, I would remove their bookmarks from my browser and pretty soon with my increased familiarity with Obama's background and positions, I was ready to jump in with my support. Watching and reading his speeches helped solidify my views. I trust him.

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Finally, with the election tomorrow, I'm ready to head to my polling place (I like to vote on Election Day). Then after work we'll get together with friends in what we hope will be a great celebration for Obama and for some of our statewide candidates - please, please, please. We may even head to Election Central to take in the atmosphere if things look like they're going our way.

But, I still wonder about people who haven't made up their minds; who say they don't know enough about the candidates and their positions. My goodness, if they have access to a library, bookstore or a computer; if they're willing to read some of the analysis from a multitude of sources, they should be able to figure this out. Let's hope they make the best choice on Tuesday. Of course that's code for: I hope they vote for Obama!