i know this blog is supposed to be about food but as you, my dedicated readers, know, i do not always stick to that. i feel compelled to write a little bit about the election today so here you go.
i still do not feel that happy or excited about obama winning (my candidate of choice for those who have not been following my blog that closely). i think the reason is because i just knew that he was going to win. ever since sarah palin showed up on the scene, i could not comprehend that there was any possible way that she could ever be VP. i think i just decided back then that obama was winning and that was that. so i am relieved and content by the results of the election but i am not jumping out of my skin with excitement.
however, the one thing i am very excited about is that obama won ohio and by such a significant margin. they called this state for obama within two hours of the polls closing. i was not expecting that and it is awesome. i admit that i really did not do anything to try to get obama elected here, other than wear some buttons from time to time and put a sign in my yard, so i really cannot take any credit for making this happen. still, i am happy to be living in this state at a time that a real change seems to be happening here.
also, i am very excited that voters did not get confused about issue 5. boo predatory lending!
overall i just want to say good work ohio and cincinnati. i went to the obama rally on sunday night and i was convinced that most of the people in attendance had traveled to get there, but maybe i was wrong. i am very excited to see signs that cincinnati is becoming more progressive, openminded, and welcoming, and i think this is election has been an important step in that direction.
6 comments:
i agree with your last statement about the city. we now live in a blue county AND a blue city. things are changing... finally!
went to the obama rally on sunday night and i was convinced that most of the people in attendance had traveled to get there...
My sister and our close friend flew in from D.C. and NYC to attend. They are still registered in Ohio because of its typical significance in elections. So I'm sure she is feeling pretty good right now.
I work in the reddest section of town: the West Side. We're talking Republican Central here. In the '04 and '06 elections, I felt that I was in physical danger from rabid Republicans anytime I expressed my political views.
But pretty early on in this election cycle, I began to feel that things were changing.
You'll recall that McCain sealed the Republican nomination more than six months ago. But week after week, as I drove to and from work each day, I noticed that there were almost no McCain campaign signs in yards. (Compare that to '04, when Bush/Cheney signs were in abundance for months before the election.) There was virtually no enthusiasm for the Republican ticket, and there continued to be few signs there until fairly recently.
When it became apparent, however, that Obama would be the Democratic nominee, I immediately began to see Obama signs throughout the neighborhood. From an anecdotal perspective, I think that, by election time, McCain signs were probably in the majority, but not a sizable majority. And the mere thought that people in that part of town were openly displaying Obama signs made me ecstatically happy.
I'm a Democrat. I'm accustomed to losing national elections. So my natural inclination is to gloat and rub people's noses in it (particularly the West-Siders who are virtually suicidal over Steve Chabot's loss). But I listened closely and took to heart what our President-elect said the other night about getting past the petty partisan politics of the past few years. And there is too damned much to be done to pull us out of the mess we're in right now.
God knows it's been hard to do, but I've gone out of my way to keep my smugness under wraps and to be kind and understanding to those with whom I don't see eye to eye.
Like you, Liz, I'm taking quiet satisfaction from knowing that times they are a-changing.
God. I think I are a big boy now.
yay! terry, that is really interesting re: the west side. i have to go over there maybe once a week for work and i was in shock over all the chabot signs but now that you mention it, i did not see many mccain signs. however i did see one scary yard in westwood that had a huge banner with "sarah is pro life" painted in red on it strung up between two trees.
Exactly! The right-to-lifers on the West Side can always be counted upon to get out the vote. And I know lots of people over there who were nuts about Sarah Palin. Maybe just enough of them to tip the scales weren't willing to pinch their noses and pull the lever for McCain.
But that still doesn't account for the beloved Steve Chabot's loss.
Who knows?
It was either Time or Newsweek that did a post-election piece about Ohio's becoming a swing state, and specifically mentioned that Hamilton County now seems to be a "swing county" in a swing state. Maybe the West Side has become (or is becoming) a new "swing neighborhood" in a swing county in a swing state. (I hope you follow that sentence...all that swinging made me dizzy.)
re: electoral signs in Cincinnati!
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