Where I will leave this

The 2004 election is almost one week behind me, and it has taken that amount of time for me to really think that I have anything concise to say about it.

The day after the election felt helpless. Every day prior, there was a sense that I could do soemthing. I could go out and knock on doors, I could raise money, I could write. Now, there is absolutely nothing I can do.

November 2nd stands as a tremendous one way tunnel. It's like the cap on a vacuum tube, only letting air move in one direction. And now all of the air is sucked out of that effort.

There has been a lot of talk, or mutterings about what we should do next. I have watched people who are depressed and shell-shocked. Most of them look like they don't know what to do. Some will admit they don't know what to do. Some will offer up rally cries for 2008. But it is really hard right now, to pick ourselves up.

Honestly, I would like to say, "Hey, let's not let this one bring us down. Let's start right now for the future. Let's keep an ever watchful eye on Bush and record every mistake." But honestly, I just want a break.

So I am going to try to distance myself from all of this for a bit. Not the people I met, but the experience itself. Perhaps some greater wisdom will come in time. But for now I need, and many others do too, to switch their life from election mode, back to life mode, and take care of those stacks of back burner priorities.

I will say I am not hopeful for the next four years. I will say that I am uncertain if I will be involved in politics again. But I will be paying attention, and I won't forget this.

Mike's thoughts

The best thing I have read so far, has been Michael Moore's initial thoughts.

Photos from Election Day

Here are some photos I snapped around Ann Arbor on the big day. First, Dee and I voted.



Ann Arbor has a small district known as "Kerrytown." I was hopeful that every town would have that a bit of that feeling.



I noticed two Michigan students carrying around this huge Kerry/Edwards sign. Later I caught up with them, and took a picture with them,





Everything certainly was pointing to a big turnout.



I was enthralled with all of the signs of the election around town. Although biased in my documentation of the signs, I honestly don't recall seeing all that many Bush signs that day.















That night we went to The Millennium Club for the after party with the Dems, the Peace Coalition, and MoveOn. Most people were pretty tired, and it was hard to say there was too much partying after all that day's work.



Cory, Liz, and I. Cory and Liz worked through the end, and we shared a work table while I was with MoveOn as an employee. They were super hard-working and the reason that people should be in politics.

The way it ended

It is 2:22 pm on November 3rd, and John Kerry has stepped down from the podium and stage, and assimilated into the crowd.

The truth is that this is not easy. This is a very difficult and heart-wrenching day. This is not how I envisioned this day, and it hurts.

I am sad today for John Kerry and his family. I am sad for the people who worked with him from day one. But most of all, I am sad for America. Today was a day when I saw a man who would be a great president, denied. Today, I saw the continuation of an administration that ignores the real interests of the American people, a regime that feeds on fears and distinguishes the ideas of those who counter their own.

Surviving the next four years will be very difficult, knowing all the while that John Kerry could be there. There will be Supreme Court justices appointed, the war will continue along the same deadly path, the international community will continue to see America as an uncaring bully, health care will continue to grow out of reach for the poor, education will become more tested and less embraced, our environment will continue to be raped, and most of all - there will be a presumption that all of this will be done with the backing of America.

A mandate? What mandate? What about 55+ million who spoke up and said they didn't agree with the President? There is no mandate! There is division... very evident division.

We will not be swept away, because we have not won this election. We will not let our voices go unheard. You cannot ignore this many people.

...

I am proud of John Kerry. His concession speech was a testament to the kind of leader he is and will continue to be. He was heart-felt, honest, and strong. He was exactly who I have come to know in this campaign, and I am extremely sad to know that others would not or could not come to know him that way, as well.

I believe that many will have regret as these next four years unfold. I believe America will begin to see what kind of mistake this election will turn out to be, as the Republicans begin to sweep through with legislation and decisions that will hurt America in both the short and long run.

As hopeful as I want to be, I see no hope with this president. I see no hope.

The great work that was done

Today, Election Day, was amazing!

Before today, I had been told that you wouldn't be able to believe how cool election day can be until you volunteer for one. I had envisioned what the day would be like, and it was truly an energizing exercise of democracy.

The passion was amazing, and I'll share a few of the stories that I heard or witnessed.

At 7:00pm, I started my day as a poll watcher at the Dicken School in Ann Arbor. Both Ward 5, Precinct 7 and Ward 4, Precinct 7 would be voting here. The small elementary school gymnasium was divided down the middle by a rope divider. One side for Ward 4, the other for Ward 5. I met a democratic challenger who was content to spend most of her day talking with her neighbors and knitting a sweater for a local family shelter.

Most people didn't know what precinct they were in, only that Dicken was the place where they should vote, so I went to my car, got my copy of the Ann Arbor precinct map, and brought it in to help voters find the correct line. After a short while some Republican challengers had complained that we were harassing voters. No surprise there, but Vick, the election official there was happier to have some help, than worrying that we were "harassing" anyone.

Next, I moved on to help canvass and phone people. I received a phone call from a woman named Sarah. I had canvassed her earlier in the month, and I recall her telling me that she thought she might need help voting. Well, she called me around 10:00 am and told me she wouldn't be voting today, because she was sick.

I was able to convince her that she needed to vote and that we could help her get there safely. So, I called Precinct Leader-extraordinaire, Don Jones and here is how her tells the story...

"93-year-old Sarah Pezzoni has been inside her small apartment for a year, ever since her family moved her from friends in Florida so that they could take care of her here. She wasn’t feeling well this morning, but when she was offered a ride to get to the polling place, she said “OK.” She was beautifully dressed, coiffed and made up as she came down the hall toward me, but swaying a bit. She scoffed at the need for her walker, grabbed a cane and away we went.

She filled me in on her family, her upset at being away from Florida friendships, but acknowledged her family her for taking good care of her. When we got to the polling site, she walked into the long lines, willing to wait if necessary. However, two people at the front of the line said they would be willing to let her “cut in.” She wasn’t clear on how to fill out the necessary forms, and being legally blind, required some help on how to fill how the ballot. But after putting on her glasses, she read through all the proposals, made up her mind and voted.

On the way back, she commented on how many people were at the polls, that she had never seen anything like it – “so many young people.” She was very touched, and said often how glad she was that she had been able to experience voting on this day, that her family would not believe that she had been able to handle this without them.

She asked me to come back for a cup of coffee later and celebrate Kerry’s victory!"

Linda Diane Feldt did an amazing job with her work in an area of town where people really needed to be turned out. She estimates at least six people that they turned out would not have voted if it had not been for their efforts. One was a mother who wouldn't be able to vote, because she needed to take her daughter to school. Another was a daughter who was told by her mother, that as long as one person voted in a household, that was all that was needed. She voted for the first time and declared, "That was easier than I thought."

Lines were longer than expected, turnout was amazing, and it has left me with a most positive outlook for Michigan!

It was an extremely long day, for an extremely long campaign, and I am happy to now say that it has come to a close. There is a strange satisfaction that comes with seeing an election day that goes this well!