Friday morning I woke up before the sun, picked up some slightly hungover friends, and braved the crazy truck drivers on Interstate 81 to make it to Roanoke by 7:30 a.m. I stood in the rain outside the Roanoke Civic Center for two-and-a-half hours before the doors even opened.
I didn't do this for a concert, nor to get tickets to a really good basketball game. I woke up early and got sopping wet so I could go to a political rally for Barack Obama.
This might seem a little crazy, and I realize that not everyone is this excited about politics when they are busy with school, weekend parties and football games. In fact, I never thought that I would be so dedicated to seeing a presidential hopeful either. But standing in line I met a lot of cool people who really care about the future of our country.
We shared umbrellas with some kids from community college; they were probably barely old enough to vote, but they were excited to skip classes and participate in such a patriotic event. A woman in front of us was discussing Obama's health care plan and why she was voting for him. Parents brought their kids even though it was a school day. People weaved through the line selling T-shirts and campaign buttons, and I really did begin to feel as if I was at a concert.
A man in front of us had actually flown in Air Force One and had met several presidents before, including Nixon and Kennedy. He told us how important it was for young people to vote, and what a difference we could make in the election. Sam Rasoul came through the line in his own poncho, shaking hands and looking for votes to get him into Congress.
When we finally made it inside, we managed to get spots on the floor about 10 feet from the stage. We were still damp, but that didn't stop us from cheering on Rep. Rick Boucher and Sen. Jim Webb in their speeches. Some students came in with T-shirts that spelled out "I love Obama," and then the wave started around the stands. The excitement level kept rising, and I wouldn't have been surprised to hear "Enter Sandman" start playing.
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Wow, I knew Chris Matthews got a tingly feeling up his leg when Obama speaks, but I thought that was limited to him. "I don't care whether you're conservative or liberal..." but Obama is an inspiration. He's going to give us all health care (just like Canada and the UK), pay teachers more (even if they don't earn it), and he's going to help the middle class by punishing big business for it's success (he calls it "fairness"). He even connects to people on a personal level, with a rock star quality. Please kids, stay home. This is no time for cults of personality. The warm fuzzies will wear off, and you'll be faced with the harsh reality that Obama has no idea what he's doing.
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And McCain knows exactly what he's doing, when he drafts you and sends you off to a 100 years war. If he's elected, get ready to be warm and sandy. This is no time to sit at home...spend an hour at the polls to cast a vote opposing McCain and his failed policies so you don't have to spend the rest of your short life overseas, or in debtor's prison, or being wiretapped, or being called unpatriotic because you pay your taxes, or risking your future to an out-of-touch, wife-dumping adulterist, privileged-family elitist, whose ultra-right wing pandering puts a moron a heartbeat away from your future. Don't stay home, the tax-exempt but politicized churches are encouraging their sheep to vote early and often. Send a message.
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The reality is, McCain and Palin are no mavericks! Alasaka is the biggest beneficaries per capita of earmark funds. McCain/Palin are reactionary and will never be the visionary people that the REAL AMERICA needs. They are playing checkers while Obama/Biden are playing chess. There simply isn't a comparison when it comes to judgement between the two parties. Hopefully the REAL AMERICA will wake up and make the right decision and vote for change!
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why change? Why not a return to a Constitutional rule of law? Obama's change is to completely step away from our founder's principles. I agree that McCain's ideas aren't perfect, but at least they aren't a complete left turn away from our founding principles. They're more like a slight swerve...
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