This is part two of my election day posts.
After my belly-of-the-beast morning at the Fairview Fire Department, I went home for lunch and a moment to rest. Of course I blogged the whole time I was at home, but what do you expect from MT.Net? I did manage to eat two pieces of pizza and take a quick nap before heading out to Westminster Church for the second half of my poll greeting.
I would be greeting for both Josh Stein and Grier Martin. I had campaign material for Josh but I had to pick up campaign materials for Grier’s campaign. On my way to Grier’s house I drove through the parking lot of the church. A lone poll greeter, behind an Obama sign, was outside surrounded by dozens of campaign signs but no voters. Seeing no Grier Martin greeter to relieve (and obtain campaign material from), I dropped by Grier’s house and returned with the pamphlets.
My fellow poll greeter was Neville, an Obama supporter who seemed a bit new to poll greeting. He showed me how he had propped up his sign through the ingenious use of cracks in the asphalt parking lot and I soon set up two signs next to him. It was mostly he and I for the day, though a Walter Rand supporter eventually joined us.
Neville seemed fired up for Obama and never failed to share that passion with incoming voters, greeting them enthusiastically. He himself was not a citizen (he is of Indian descent) but didn’t let that stop him from campaigning. I enjoyed his company as we passed the cold, wet, mostly-lonely hours together.
Neville asked me how I thought the election would turn out. He was not entirely convinced Obama could pull it off. I told him I thought Obama would clean up on election night – that it wouldn’t even be close – and that he might win North Carolina as well. Neville was amazed at my optimism, though he conceded in an email this morning that I was right on both counts.
A wonderful thing happened around 3 PM. That’s when an Obama volunteer stopped by and provided all three of us bag lunches and bottled water. It didn’t matter that two of us weren’t there for Obama specifically: we all got lunches. After hours of standing in the cold, wet drizzle, little signs of appreciation make a ton of difference. That sandwich made a big impact on me and I owe the campaign a thank-you note.
There was little of the drama that was present at Fairview. Most voters in the precinct had already voted so there wasn’t the big rush that I’d seen earlier. The only thing that stood out was the one woman who asked us if she could vote only for President and nothing else. I wasn’t sure why someone would want to do this but that’s what she wanted.
Grier himself showed up in the afternoon to say hello and chat with us. He was also good for information on how the other campaigns were going. If only he could learn to use an umbrella when its raining!
Around 6 PM it had gotten dark, making it even more miserable to be outside. When there seemed a stall in the voters coming in, I stepped inside the polling place to get the voter count and see who was left. When precinct officials told me there was little chance of many more voters, I decided to pack it in. I said goodbye to Neville and went home to dry out.
After spending some time with the family and helping the kids get ready for bed, I left for downtown, planning to stop by Josh Stein’s post-election party as well as the Democratic Party’s at the Marriott’s ballroom. At Poole’s a large crowd had gathered. A wide-screen TV showed race results and the buffet table was crowded. I almost spit my French Broad Rye Ale when news of Kay Hagan’s victory was announced. It was the first of many pleasant election surprises.
Josh’s race was over quickly. He arrived and greeted his supporters before making a celebratory speech from the top of the bar. When some of the crowd started heading to the Marriott I followed suit.
The Marriott was packed with people, so many that it was nerve-wracking trying to squeeze through the hallways. I thought of turning around and heading for the exits but I found some space inside the ballroom and made my way to the far wall. There I found many folks seated on the floor in front of the stage and plenty of room to stand. I was maybe 20 feet away from the podium with room to move around.
There was a friendly crowd there. Next to me was a tall, friendly, older country boy in a Carolina Hurricanes cap. He and I chatted all night about the results. Behind us were two African-American ladies, one with her husband. A few African-Amreican kids were in front of us.
A large African-American man heard Dole’s concession speech start on his radio and asked if anyone wanted to hear it. I popped his headphones on for a moment but like him I found her speech painful to listen to and handed his headphones back!
State results kept rolling in. Ohio went for Obama. A big round of applause filled the room. Pennsylvania came our way. Another big round of applause.
Then Virginia came in. Thundering applause filled the room as the crowd roared its approval. If Virginia was in the Obama column, could North Carolina follow? We wouldn’t find out until two days later, but it did.
We waited while the election coverage showed commercials. The AV guy kept the channel on Fox News too long and the sight of Karl Rove brought lusty boos. Soon the crowd rebelled and a chant of “CNN! CNN! CNN!” convinced the AV guy to return to the less partisan channels.
Bev Perdue marched up to the podium at the moment that California went for Obama, sealing his victory. Bad, bad timing on her part! While Perdue winning the governorship is huge (and another unexpected surprise for me), she could not compete with Barack Obama just then winning the Presidency.
A sustained cheering thundered through the ballroom. High fives were exchanged. I hugged total strangers. I watched as my new African-American friends wiped away tears, almost not believing what they were seeing. It was a deeply touching moment to see the hope in their eyes. That hope was in everyone’s eyes but I could see how much more it meant to them. A barrier that seemed insurmountable had been overcome. It was such a magic moment.
Roy Cooper made a speech earlier and later worked the crowd, as I blogged about earlier. I am still marveling at his sincerity. He is one North Carolina politician who can win any office he runs for, without a doubt.
Janet Cowell also came out for a victory speech. It was the first time I’d seen her for a while and I hugged her and offered her my congratulations. I had really been hoping to do more for her campaign aside from shooting the commercial, one morning of canvassing, and an afternoon stuffing envelopes. I offered to do more but wasn’t asked to. I don’t know if that’s because the campaign thought it didn’t need my help or that it didn’t think my help was useful. I suppose in the end it doesn’t matter, though, as she won with a decent margin.
Once the national election was decided and the local speeches had ended, I decided to call an end to my long day. Driving north down Wilmington Street I saw backed-up traffic and police lights ahead. I detoured around Moore Square and got home around midnight. I found out the next day about the massive block party that had closed the streets. Wish I would’ve stuck around for that.
Another election is in the books. It was hard work, miserable weather-wise, but also deeply rewarding. I just can’t help eating this stuff up.