Expat bi-national couples ready to march on Washington, 11.08.08

Re:Victory November 4th: Barack Obama and Joe Biden

Normally, I strongly support direct action. But in this brave new Obama-world, I would counsel for wait-and-see. Wait just a little while, yet…

There are gazillions of people, right now, who want our next President's attention and support. And they want it NOW.

The ugly truth for bi-national same-sex families is that the country as a whole, and our new President, has far more serious issues to face than inequity in immigration for same-sex families. Our economy could collapse, hundreds of thousands could be jobless, we have a war to end and three countries to clean up as best we can (ours, Iraq,and Afghanistan), a tax system that has for too long been horrendously imbalanced against middle-and-low-income Americans, poverty and homelessness are on the rise nationally while we already have a large swath of the country still traumatically impacted by a hurricane that came through thee years ago, and we have eight years of highly destructive Republican governance to try and turn around (or far more than eight years, depending on whether you also count the Clinton era, which in too many ways was not so very different from the Republican Presidencies both before and after).

It takes a lot of time and effort to turn the ship of state, even just a little. Fortunately for us, I'm convinced, Obama means to change direction A LOT. And that takes even more time.

I feel certain Obama is not going to take on a gay rights issue in his first 100 days in office. Where you and I would see courageousness and find a hero, were he to take on our issue so soon, his advisors would no doubt regard it as making the same "mistake" Clinton made in '92 with `gays in the military.' (Of course, from a gay perspective, Clinton's mistake was the lack of leadership he demonstrated in a failure to use the Bully Pulpit and simply insist – Colin Powell be damned -- on simple American-style fairness and equity). They're not going to let that happen.

Obama has demonstrated a wise cautiousness – proof of which has been his unwillingness to embrace explicit gay rights remedies in the campaign. (That was one of the reasons I, personally, was not an Obama supporter, not until late in the campaign). If we lay down in the streets now or in the spring, we're just going to create an embarrassing situation for everyone.

That said, I have come to believe that he really is on our side. I believe there's a will to address our needs and make up for the unfairness we live with, as well as the myriad and very serious unfairnesses affecting the lives of scores of other Americans, today.

I'm not saying we should sit down and shut up, and patiently wait our turn for history to kindly come around – because history has never worked that way -- but I AM saying we have to give the guy time, and we have to remember he's on our side and, most important, we're on his.

I think rather than marching, laying down in the streets, and making a public scene, we should plan with Immigration Equality, and perhaps HRC, for a White House meeting. Then we could bring together the largest gathering we can of same-sex bi-national couples, to meet our new President face-to-face and remind him that we're out here, seeking justice...ask him to partner with us to bring the United States in line with so many other nations today...pass the Uniting American Families Act, repeal Defense of Marriage Act...

--- In LoveExilesCanada@yahoogroups.com, "Rose Holbrook"wrote:
So is it fair of us to try to set a tentative date? R

On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 6:54 PM, thomvernon2 wrote: Right on! I'm so there. Let's go lay down in traffic in frontof the White House. They'll have to run over us!

--- In LoveExilesCanada@yahoogroups.com
Nadine wrote: There is an Salon article that talks about the need to repeal DOMA and specifically discusses immigration. Check it out: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/11/06/doma/ Nadine

On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 8:23 AM, Rose Holbrook wrote:
I think it sounds great! I would love to participate. Please let me know if this picks up any attention. I willpass on the word once we have a date... Rose

On Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 6:13 AM, Art Foster wrote:
Here is a post I made to another yahoo group -outforimmigration :
Obama got our gay votes-just like any Democrat. But Obama included us in all most all of his speeches. I say it is gayback (payback) time for our votes. Obama does not believe in gay marriage. Fine... Callit a gay union, but give us ALL FEDERAL BENEFITS. I am tired of livingwithout my partner of 10 years! I think the gay community has to get together as a whole and I think we should have a March to Washington in the Spring. This gives Obama a chance to get get settled in, but it is also within his first 100 days. What do you all think?

Obama's speech, 11.05.08

The text of last night's speech is worth reading again and again...especially when, like me, you work with a bunch of unhappy Republicans (trying their best to pour ice water on our joy today)! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7710038.stm


CHANGE HAS COME

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voices could be that difference.

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who have been told for so long by so many to be cynical, and fearful, and doubtful of what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

PARTNERS IN THE JOURNEY

A little bit earlier this evening I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. He fought long and hard in this campaign, and he's fought even longer and harder for the country he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader.

I congratulate him, I congratulate Governor Palin, for all they have achieved, and I look forward to working with them to renew this nation's promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton and rode with on that train home to Delaware, the vice-president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden.

And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years, the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady, Michelle Obama.

Sasha and Malia, I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House.

And while she's no longer with us, I know my grandmother is watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight, and know that my debt to them is beyond measure. To my sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other brothers and sisters - thank you so much for all the support you have given me. I am grateful to them.

To my campaign manager David Plouffe, the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best political campaign in the history of the United States of America. My chief strategist David Axelrod, who has been a partner with me every step of the way, and to the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics - you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you've sacrificed to get it done.

VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to - it belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington - it began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston.
It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause.

It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation's apathy; who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep; it grew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers; from the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organised, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory.

THE TASK AHEAD

I know you didn't do this just to win an election and I know you didn't do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.

Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us.

There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after their children fall asleep and wonder how they'll make the mortgage, or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education. There is new energy to harness and new jobs to be created; new schools to build and threats to meet and alliances to repair.

REMAKING THE NATION

The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America - I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you - we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree.

And above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek - it is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It cannot happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. Let us remember that if this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers - in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people.

Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House - a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity.

Those are values that we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours: "We are not enemies, but friends… though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection."

And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn - I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president too.

AMERICA IN THE WORLD

And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world - our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.

To those who would tear the world down - we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security - we support you.

And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright - tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

For that is the true genius of America - that America can change. Our union can be perfected. And what we have already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

A HISTORY OF STRUGGLE

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that's on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She's a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing - Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old.

She was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn't vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin.

And tonight, I think about all that she's seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can't, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: Yes, we can.

At a time when women's voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach for the ballot. Yes, we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs and a new sense of common purpose. Yes, we can.
When the bombs fell on our harbour and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes, we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that "we shall overcome". Yes, we can.

A man touched down on the Moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes, we can.

THIS IS OUR MOMENT

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves - if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt, and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: yes, we can.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

visualize 2016; 11.05.08

This is from my friend Margaret.

(While it was seeing Obama himself, in person, that clinched my vote, Margaret gets the credit for turning me toward Obama in the first place, with her enthusiastic and continual encouragement... I also credit my friend Joe with nearly sealing the decision, with his own enthusiastic, sharp analysis on Obama's intellectual and strategic acumen).

Anyway, this is a post-election visualization meditation. It should help ease through the times and the work still to come:

The year is 2016. We glance at the television one morning and see Obama having another of his many press conferences. He has now been in office for almost 8 years. Things are way better than when he took office in January of 2009. You notice that his hair has whitened and he still has that winning smile and that take charge/positive energy that he had when he was campaigning way back in 2008.

You remember back to how concerned you were about whether or not he would win in 2008 and you feel deeply contented that he has been safely in office for such a long time.

He and Congress have done much to address global warming, health care, development of alternative energy sources and a> variety of other important matters to the country and the planet. You feel deep gratitude for the past eight years and> how things have unfolded.

See it... Feel it...breathe it.... Pass it on.

Lets stop fighting against McCain and Palin and the Bushies, and start working "for" Obama-Biden. Lets stop driving ourselves crazy with all of the outrageous mind upsetting details about them and start remembering all of the wonderful reasons we want Obama.

THE CHALLENGE: take 30 seconds right now. Close your eyes and imagine exactly what our country will feel like with President Obama. Imagine how good it will feel. Imagine whatever it is about him that you desire.

Imagine the pride. Imagine the diplomacy. Imagine the peace. Imagine the wind mills and the clean cars. Imagine the citizen groups. Imagine the earth being healed and revitalized. Imagine being very proud of your country and its leader.. Imagine whatever it is that draws you to support Obama. Imagine what your life will look like.

30 seconds. Do it several times a day. We can shift and change this country with positive visions just like this. It's only 30 seconds a few times a day.

YES WE CAN!

Its time to celebrate, Let love shine, and we will find, a way to come together, and make things better

This song keeps running through my head (yes I'm an 80's kid):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X7RyGBq2E8

Lyrics are SOOOO appropriate (see below).

I wish I could share with everybody all the wonderful happy replies I'm getting from wonderful friends, because they're all so heartwarming and inspiring. But I especially want to share what my dear funny best friend Kumar sent this morning, from Toronto. (I went with him to his swearing-in ceremony, in DC in 1998, as a U.S. citizen, and drove him to National Airport when he left us, on his Canadian "landed immigrant" day, one year ago):

"He did it....
For first time in my life, I can proudly say that I am an American. Yesterday, some guys in my next cubicle were talking about how America should learn from Canada on how to conduct elections with no problems. The other guy was saying Canadian government should send high level officials to teach American government on equality (income and race), progressive ideas etc...I can kick the Canadian (at least Canadians don't say it so blatantly) and Frenchie butts on their superiority feelings over America....
I am proud to be Indian (now they get international respect), proud to be Canadian (over their progressive policies) and now American (fixing the mess of past 8 years and finally, showing that an African American can become a President). Now, I can say that I am American when I travel abroad (speaking of which, I have a strong urge to quit on Dec 15 and go ahead with my travel plans).
it does not matter to paraphrase 'The one' ..it is not Asian proud or North American proud... it is human proud
now let the sea part and I will lead my people...
lol
love
kumar"

And now for those lyrics:
Holiday: (Madonna)

Holiday
celebrate!
Holiday
celebrate!

If we took a holidayTook some time to celebrateJust one day out of lifeIt would be, it would be so nice
Everybody spread the wordWere gonna have a celebration
All across the world
In every nation
Its time for the good times
Forget about the bad times, oh yeah
One day to come together
To release the pressure
We need a holiday
(chorus)
You can turn this world around
And bring back all of those happy days
Put your troubles down
Its time to celebrate
Let love shine
And we will find
A way to come together
And make things better
We need a holiday
(chorus)
Holiday
celebrate!
Holiday
celebrate!
(chorus)
Holiday
celebrate
Holiday
celebrate
Holiday, celebration
Come together in every nation

11.04.08, 11:16 PM

WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

America finally grows up!

I AM SOOOO PROUD AND HAPPY!

I was born in Virginia, 1962; Moved to DC, 1985; Moved to Maryland, 2000; Moved to Pennsylvania, 2008

Today, every single one of my homes and former homes MAKES ME PROUD!!!

THANK YOU AMERICA!

Uh oh. I'm getting weepy again.

Truly, truly, truly -- not to be another American-supremacist, because you know I'm not -- nearly the WHOLE WORLD breathes a sigh of relief, and gives thanks.

banners hung with pre-election assurance, 10.01.08

My home, Hyattsville Maryland

I had to buy the banners; ordered them online. I haven't put up a U.S. flag since just after September 11, having felt more ashamed of my country, than proud, for its acts on the world stange.

I bought them in boastful confidence that this time, we would win.

But I have to admit, I bought the ones without stars since these could double as the French tricoleur.

American, but not TOO American.

11.04.08, 7:08 AM -- off to vote

Starting today, we're finally going to turn this country around again. Here's a photo of my home back home, in Maryland, hopefully decorated to celebrate the coming changes. I'm with Michelle O...remembering what it's like to feel patriotic about the best of this country, and enjoying it!

And now I'm OFF TO VOTE! Hope you are, too...if you haven't already...

Republican Colleagues, 10.29.08

I gather all my colleagues -- even those I like personally -- are Republicans. How depressing.

A lot of people are afraid of him, and of what the Democrats will do if they take both houses of Congress and the White House. A lot of people are afraid, period.

I'm more afraid of what things will be like if this country continues on the course it has been on throughout most of our lifetimes. It isn't pretty.

I don't trust the election system at all any more...and feel things have gotten much worse, in that respect, too, over the last eight years. So yes, we'll see. If he looses it can only be because the disparity between the haves and the have nots has become insurmountable. But the 'haves' have been giving Obama a whole lot of money, much more than to McCain, so that in itself suggests he is the anoited one....

R

Obama rally, Mellon Arena Pittsburgh PA, 10.27.08

Well, seeing as how I'm in a place where next week's Presidential election results are considered critical in the national contest, for the first time in my adult life, I got the opportunity to attend a real live campaign event today. I learned about it only this morning from news reports on the local NPR station, WDUQ jazz. Barack Obama came to Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena tonight!

Doors opened at 3:00 so, since I had to work 'till 4:30, I wasn't sure I'd even get in. And it was quite cold this afternoon -- much colder than it had been in the morning -- and wearing only a light sweater, I wasn't dressed for an adventure. But I looked up bus routes, waited for the bus for about 25 minutes in the ice-windy cold, and was soon on my way.

The bus wound across Pittsburgh's infamous "Hill" neighborhood -- the poorest, the blackest, and the most notorious in its history of crime-against-persons in Pittsburgh -- before it got to the Arena. Only one other white person was on the bus -- a waif-thin lady in her late 60's or even 70's (it's increasingly hard to guess ages, now that I'm officially and oldie myself) with bouffed-up blond-dyed hair, like hair out of a 1960's black and white movie, and who, like me, had to ask the driver some questions, thus suggesting she, too, hadn't ridden this route before. She got on at the same stop as me and, unless she's retired, was almost certainly coming from work like I was...perhaps even from the VA.

Some cute old geezers joshed and jabbered with each other along the way, the way people do on buses, getting on and off at their respective stops. One of them, as we passed an old and long-closed night club -- which clearly had been gorgeous in its heyday -- asked the total stranger across the aisle whether he remembered the greats that used to come there...like, he said with evident pride, James Brown, BB King, and the Supremes. The Supremes! "They'd come here before they'd go downtown! They all did." I wondered if he announced this for the white boy, since I was staring so intently (studying the gorgeous old Art Deco-era architectural details)...

By the time we reached the arena, only three of us got off to attend the event: myself the white gay, the skinny old white lady, and a great big black lady with equally big hair. You know how in olden times people would say of someone "She's got good bones."? Well, we got good demographics, gettin off that bus.

As I strode toward the building as fast as my 6'3" long-legged frame could carry me, a little old lady joined me and we struck up a conversation after she shouted to me across the parking lot, "Do you think we'll get in?" and I slowed down, as she hoofed it to catch up. Being about four of her (big hair) heads taller than herself, I could assure her the line was moving well, and didn't look too long. We talked about when "he" -- one so well-known that HE, like Yaweh, doesn't need to be named to be understood -- was supposed to arrive.

That was before I actually got up to the building, where I learned that same line followed a ramp around one side and then went down a long hill, so that a whole lot of the crowd was well out of sight. I lost her when I stopped at a T-shirt vendor to see if I could get an Obama sweatshirt to wear in that cold. Unfortunately the vendor only had burgundy and -- I hope this isn't a bad sign for the future -- only Obama-Biden, and I definitely wanted one unsullied by listing the running mate. Just The Man himself, please.

It took us only half an hour to get in. I noted this as I suddenly found myself re-united with my little big-haired friend, and we laughed about finding each other again. And then still more lines. Of course, spending so many years going in and out of Government agencies in Washington, I'm well-used to the metal detectors. They wanted us to keep cell phones ON. Someone in the crowd said that was to ensure they were real and not disguised explosive devices. I got pulled aside to be wanded...probably looking suspiciously like a Republican in my Brooks Brothers pants and button-down shirts... But there were lots more "Republican"-looking white guys than me there...even guys in ties and black trenchcoats with perfect haircuts.

Still more lines on the inside corridors, to get into the stands themselves. Just about the time we were shepherded to the third level -- where no seats remained -- and were being pushed along by the crowd to the next set of stairs up to the 4th level, the speaker wrapped up his remarks and introduced Barack Obama! I saw him, immediately, coming through the crowd from stage left, and gasped out loud like a groupie "I can see him!" At that point we were at the back side of the platform where he was about to speak. I decided to stay put. Luckily no more police were around to wave me on.

It was an amazing and magical moment. The enthusiasm of the crowd, the cheering, and the man himself were invigorating. As he walked the platform that lead to the stage, he waved at all around him, and even waved and smiled to those of us he knew would remain at his back. A good place to find oneself, I thought, when supporting a leader on the cutting edge of history -- I'm proud to have his back. It felt great in a way I've never felt in attending ANY kind of public event ever before. I loved watching him just walk in, and seeing the smile on his face in evident satisfaction and the self-certainty in the power all around him.

I could see him very clearly from where I stood, at the back of the waay-third level and with the bottom half of an enormous Pennsylvania flag obscuring part of the view. I had to bend at the knees a bit, to maintain the sight line. But there were TV screens overhead where we could see his face as he spoke.

He spoke about the usual stuff. What he said was mostly beautiful, important and inspiring sentiments. There was little that was so stirring, perhaps, that I'll remember it forever and ever. What I will remember most, I think, was the current in the air, the gathering of people around me, white and black together, middle income and probably much-lower-than-middle, young kids and little kids with their parents and old folks and middle-aged like me, blacks and whites and asians. The makeup of the crowd that filled that arena was as beautiful as anything that was or could be said. And that mix, in fact, seems to me the great genius and the greatest strength in Barack's candidacy.

It's about damn time this country had a leader like this one!

For those of you I haven't said this to, by now, I have found Pittsburgh abnormally "white", from the rest of my adult experience of life. This gathering felt like more like what I'm used to, having lived in and around D.C. for so many decades; like a balancing of the scales. And I hope that is true of the election, too.

This man HAS to win. He -- WE -- can't not win.

Another thing I will always remember from the evening's speech is the way he talked about bringing us all together, the way he talked about patriotism not being limited to one town or one city or one region -- of course those of us who've followed the news laughed heartily at the reference to Sarah Palin's myopic take on these United States -- the way he talked about all of us being good Americans whether we opposed or supported the war. It has been far too rare to hear this kind of frank, truth-telling talk directly countering Republican-extremist propaganda, with no rancor whatsoever, from a Democratic candidate for higher office. It's wonderful!

At one point in his speech he listed all our differences -- with the emphasis tied up, of course, in our commonalities. It took him a while, but I listened and held my applause as I waited for the inclusion which in due course rightly came: "...GAY Americans and straight Americans..." in his litany. He isn't the first candidate to include us, but he's the first from whom it sounded, to my ears, totally natural and un-stilted, as if he actually might have some friends who are gay!

People who aren't gay probably won't understand what it feels like to be included, in this seemingly small way. People who are black have long known all about what it feels like, to suddenly find oneself even mentioned in the nation's political rhetoric as a welcome member of the American family.

Anyway, soon enough the speech was over. I watched him as he glad-handed the special few who were permitted around the stage, wishing I was among them. The speech was over, but not the that electricity he -- that we -- generated.

I left the Arena to catch the bus back home through the Hill again. Helped some old guy, who could barely walk, across the traffic (by kind of standing in its way and asking him, "Aren't you coming? They'll wait!") Bus came pretty soon. Stopped right in front of me. Let all the old ladies get on first, canes and all. Bus driver black, wasn't taking any tickets or money. Got one of the last seats near the back, behind the (possibly crazy) guy in the grey tweed Hamburg who kept lolling his head around in circles and who couldn't speak properly when he tried to advise someone of the stop they needed.

Now THIS bus back across the Hill was more like the makeup of the rally, and just about everybody on it had Obama on them somewhere. Old white women and men, and old black women and men, and middle aged white men, and college kids of all races and ethnicities, and an angry-looking young black man who had also probably just come from the rally and was screaming at whoever was on the other end of the cell phone, "GIVE THE DAMN PHONE TO GRANMAH!", and a lot of the old guys wearing "Veterans for Obama" buttons.

That was a joyous, hopeful, and exhilarating ride. I sure hope Tuesday's election is the same, and the eight years that must follow.

NOW I KNOW YOU'RE ALL VOTING FOR OBAMA. But if you know anyone on the fence -- the way, some of you know, I myself have been toward this candidate at times for his weak public stances on same-sex family equality -- do ANYTHING you can to help them make up their minds!!!

I believe this is the leader we need...and I hope, and expect, he'll prove himself to be, given the chance, the leader we need.

Hope to see you in D.C. on inauguration day! If any of you -- "my friends" -- are going to be in the crowd but won't have tickets to a special location, let's make a plan to go together, whatever the weather. I went to the my first inauguration -- after a lifetime in DC -- to protest Dubya's induction as President, so I MUST go to THIS one! (And hey, if you DO get tickets to a special location -- I know some of you have "connections"! -- by all means let me join you -- smile!)

Love,
Robert