Election Day

I sent in my absentee ballot several weeks ago but went with my sister to our polling place around the corner. There was a short line but everyone was friendly and fairly confident about Obama's impending success. There was a palpable nervous energy circulating among people, after weeks of tension the anticipation was clearly at is peak. But the older folks kept reminding us that we live in a bubble here in San Francisco and that the rest of the country isn't so optimistic or confident.There seemed to be a general concensus among the people around me that McCain's nomination of Sarah Palin had lost him the election. Some sounded affronted, personally offended almost, by his VP nomination. One older woman in particular who was buzzing around the line, talking to friends and neighbors, expressed her disappointment in the regression that Sarah Palin had cost women in politics.

I was a little nervous to hear one of my neighbors join the line, not sure if he belonged at this polling place. He said the place he normally voted didn't have his name on their roster and he hadn't moved since then. He waited and waited in the line to find out if he had been moved to this polling place but found out he wasn't on their list either. But he hund around and talked to people about what he would have voted for and how he hoped they would vote. I was actually quite surprised by how open people were in expressing what they were going to put on their ballot. I guess thats just San Francisco though, because most people seem to vote the same way.

All in all, it was a day I will always remember. It was the first election I was really a part of, and what a great city to experience it all in. For the first time in my life (like Michelle Obama!) I could really say that I was proud to be an American and proud of the people I share this country with, the young people especially. Look at all that we can overcome when choose to make our voices heard.