delegated

When Colorado held their caucus, my friend John mentioned on Facebook that he wound up being a delegate for Obama in his state. I never expected to follow exactly in his footsteps but, inspired by him, I told myself that I would speak up if it seemed like I should at our caucus.

So tonight was the big event... we've never held a caucus before here in Nebraska (at least that I know of) so it was all new to us. Overall, it was really cool. It was cool to see how many people turned out, and to know that there actually are Democrats in south Lincoln. It was cool to actually talk about things and learn what people thought, and to participate instead of just filing in and marking a piece of paper. I'm glad that we have adopted the practice, but the acoustics of the gymnasium where our caucus was held were terrible and it was pretty chaotic. Nobody really knew what to do (or could hear anything).

Our precinct was split into about 2/3 for Obama, and 1/3 for Clinton. There was only 1 undecided voter. Everybody seemed very appreciative of the "other side" and it was a good atmosphere. When we split out the first time, one girl kind of got roped into speaking for the Obama side because she had enthusiastically yelled out "Obama!" as the coordinator was explaining the procedure. She made great points, and so did the Clinton side, and no one but the undecided voter switched sides (she switched over to the Clinton side). No one really seemed to want to talk for the next round, so my friend Travis said "hey Paul, why don't you?" ...so I did.

I don't remember too much about what I said, but I got to speak after the Clinton supporter, who read a good quote from a magazine article. I would like to have spoken about hope, and about unity, and about working together. Hopefully I was able to make good points about education and healthcare, and about the war. Maybe I talked about my concerns about the irrational hatred that Republicans seem to hold for Senator Clinton, and how I didn't feel like she was the one who would be able to unite us all as a people. That's what I would like to have done, and I hope that I did justice to the cause... but I probably missed a lot of it. Mostly I remember that my hand was shaking so badly that I had to clench it and hold it against myself so that I wouldn't feel like a total loser. :)

I'm pretty used to public speaking by now, but I will never enjoy it... and I'm used to actually knowing what I'm talking about while I'm speaking. I do remember making an example of my mom as a scary right-winger... which was totally appropriate, and more than a little fun.

So after I spoke, no one switched sides again (other than the previously undecided voter, who switched over to the Obama side), and our precinct sent 2 delegates for Obama, and 1 for Clinton - and I wound up being nominated to be one of the delegates. I get to go to the Nebraska Democratic Convention in June... which should be another great learning experience. I'm also likely to keep my mouth shut there. :)

Tonight appears to be a big night for Senator Obama. He has been projected to win Nebraska, Washington, and Louisiana by the Associated Press. Cool beans!