WE DEMOCRATS ARE A MESSY BUNCH . . .
I had a small adventure this week – went to the opening of the Obama headquarters here in Tallahassee. I was struck by how typical of the Democratic Party as a whole this opening was: messy, crowded, exuberant, hopeful, and pretty poorly organized.
The first thing I notice at this headquarters is the handmade sign. “Obama ‘08” it says – an exact duplicate of the Obama logo we’ve all come to recognize, but clearly drawn and colored with Magic Markers. I’m thinking, is there no provision for a professionally printed sign? And then I’m thinking, no, that would be across town at the McCain operation, which I understand has been up and running (smoothly, I’m sure) for three months.
Upon entering headquarters, I make a wrong turn and end up at the end of an unmarked corridor and discover the ladies’ room. Serendipity! Don’t know if I could have found it had I been looking, but I take advantage. Then back down the corridor, into the packed meeting rooms – overworked air conditioning (in Tallahassee in August, this is the same as none at all), throngs of people, mass confusion.
There are refreshments. Like the sign outside, these are obviously homemade – wonderful cakes, trays of crackers and dip, casseroles with unidentifiable contents. There are also boxes of cookies from Publix. No plates, no napkins. An earnest, sweating young man offers me a bottle of water straight from the case he’s just opened. We Democrats certainly don’t need cold water – we’re made of stronger stuff!
There are local politicians sprinkled throughout the crowd, recognizable to everyone – after all, this is Tallahassee, where politics is part and parcel of everyday life. There are candidates for local office, easily identified by the formality of their dress – dark suits for both men and women, makeup and hairdos carefully attended to for the latter – and everywhere, sweaty, sweaty faces.
Ah, but the crowd. I revel in this stuff – these are my people. There are, of course, many young people – we are a college town. There are black faces and white faces, men and women, small babies. There are familiar faces, folks I’ve known for years, and lots of new faces, too. Every face has a smile – this is more fun than we Democrats have had in years.
I buttonhole a City Commissioner and beg for a minute of his time to lobby for an issue that’s dear to my heart. He listens, responds, heads across the room to corner the Mayor, turns me over to him. I plead my case. He looks me in the eye and gives a response. I love this. I think of the Founding Fathers and hope they’d be proud. I greet a County Commissioner on my way out of the room and tell him to stay the course on a difficult and unpopular issue – one on which he has come down on the side of humanity. He grins.
Everywhere there is noise, dust, heat, confusion – pleas from young volunteers to sign up for phone banks and neighborhood canvassing – ebb and flow of an energized group.
This was fun. I’m not sure how much difference all this will make in the final outcome of our approaching election, but there is an energy in the rank and file members of the party that I haven’t seen, maybe ever. There’s a feeling that maybe this might actually happen – that we might be witnessing a monumental shift in the direction of our country, or maybe just a movement back on track and forward. In these tiny crowded rooms in a once-vacant little office complex there is a bubbling hope. I love this stuff.
I had a small adventure this week – went to the opening of the Obama headquarters here in Tallahassee. I was struck by how typical of the Democratic Party as a whole this opening was: messy, crowded, exuberant, hopeful, and pretty poorly organized.
The first thing I notice at this headquarters is the handmade sign. “Obama ‘08” it says – an exact duplicate of the Obama logo we’ve all come to recognize, but clearly drawn and colored with Magic Markers. I’m thinking, is there no provision for a professionally printed sign? And then I’m thinking, no, that would be across town at the McCain operation, which I understand has been up and running (smoothly, I’m sure) for three months.
Upon entering headquarters, I make a wrong turn and end up at the end of an unmarked corridor and discover the ladies’ room. Serendipity! Don’t know if I could have found it had I been looking, but I take advantage. Then back down the corridor, into the packed meeting rooms – overworked air conditioning (in Tallahassee in August, this is the same as none at all), throngs of people, mass confusion.
There are refreshments. Like the sign outside, these are obviously homemade – wonderful cakes, trays of crackers and dip, casseroles with unidentifiable contents. There are also boxes of cookies from Publix. No plates, no napkins. An earnest, sweating young man offers me a bottle of water straight from the case he’s just opened. We Democrats certainly don’t need cold water – we’re made of stronger stuff!
There are local politicians sprinkled throughout the crowd, recognizable to everyone – after all, this is Tallahassee, where politics is part and parcel of everyday life. There are candidates for local office, easily identified by the formality of their dress – dark suits for both men and women, makeup and hairdos carefully attended to for the latter – and everywhere, sweaty, sweaty faces.
Ah, but the crowd. I revel in this stuff – these are my people. There are, of course, many young people – we are a college town. There are black faces and white faces, men and women, small babies. There are familiar faces, folks I’ve known for years, and lots of new faces, too. Every face has a smile – this is more fun than we Democrats have had in years.
I buttonhole a City Commissioner and beg for a minute of his time to lobby for an issue that’s dear to my heart. He listens, responds, heads across the room to corner the Mayor, turns me over to him. I plead my case. He looks me in the eye and gives a response. I love this. I think of the Founding Fathers and hope they’d be proud. I greet a County Commissioner on my way out of the room and tell him to stay the course on a difficult and unpopular issue – one on which he has come down on the side of humanity. He grins.
Everywhere there is noise, dust, heat, confusion – pleas from young volunteers to sign up for phone banks and neighborhood canvassing – ebb and flow of an energized group.
This was fun. I’m not sure how much difference all this will make in the final outcome of our approaching election, but there is an energy in the rank and file members of the party that I haven’t seen, maybe ever. There’s a feeling that maybe this might actually happen – that we might be witnessing a monumental shift in the direction of our country, or maybe just a movement back on track and forward. In these tiny crowded rooms in a once-vacant little office complex there is a bubbling hope. I love this stuff.
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