...In which our heroine presents more thoughts on the election.

After the elation of Tuesday, I needed some time to process all that happened and give a better recap of my thoughts on what happened that day, so here you go.

I had no real intention of attending the rally in Grant Park--I was very concerned about things getting ugly, as Chicago has a tendency to do--the RAs warned us about going as did my parents. But when it became apparent that the boys had tickets and we were their chosen ones, I knew that I'd be pissed at myself forever if I didn't take the chance.

I voted for the first time with no issues or no waits in line around noon on Tuesday. I swear I didn't even know Nader was running again until some guy handed me a flyer outside the polling place. QUIT IT.

We initially were going to head over to the park around 7:30, seeing as the gates were supposed to open at 8:30, but the organizers ended up opening them around 6, so we headed over, of course not before a stop at Baskin-Robbins. The streets were flooded with Obama supporters and vendors, some of them already comfortably numb. I got a free button from some weird guy who called me princess--ah, Chicago.

Getting into the park intially, on the Congress brigdes was the clusterfuck I expected. That checkpoint was first, then two more, then eventual metal detectors. This all took about an hour, but was much less annoying then the bassackwards way of getting in Grant Park they set up for Lollapalooza.

Once we were in...it was to be totally cheesy and cliche...magical. The level of excitement in the air was high, and the idea of a collective goal and optimism was totally there. We didn't have a particularly good view of the stage, but then again I never really have a good view with my shortness. The crowd cheered wildly every time CNN announced a state for Obama, and once Ohio fell, we were all waiting for the axe to drop.

And at the top of the 10 o'clock hour instead of announcing west coast states, CNN announced Obama as President. There have been few other times in my life where I've felt so purely happy. There were hugs and tears and shouts--the atmosphere was fantastic. We danced and waited for the man himself to make an apperance.

A McCain fan I am not (even less so for Palin) but his speech was well done. Obama finally took the stage around 11...and you know the rest. Screaming "yes we can" with 200,000 of my close personal friends was pretty damn phenomenal. If you watch the video embeded in the last entry, the camera shows Lane and Julia at the 12:58 mark, and I'm just too short to be seen.

As for Obama himself, I am far from thinking he is America's savior. Last night's South Park did a great episode on that very thought. Obama is still young and does indeed lack some experience. I don't know if all his plans for reform will work--some may fail miserably. But when my family asks me why I voted for Barack Obama, the answer is simple. I see in him a desire for a change, an ability to hope for the best and strive to fix things that I didn't see in John McCain. I see a vision and I see hope. I see a first-generation American who is going to attempt to make my life better. And that's all I need to hear.

The stage crappily viewed, I'm short, deal with it


A few folks attended the rally


I just like this one


Everyone loves liberal girls


Liberal boys...they're okay too, I guess