The Barryfest Chronicles

Please excuse my tardiness, as I know that I am a day late on posting my personal reaction to the presidential election.  I spent the better part of yesterday in my office with the door shut and my head in my hands, trying my best to hide the most vicious weekday hangover I’ve nursed at work since the days of Wednesday night Tickle Fight rehearsals back in Minneapolis.

Barack Obama won in a landslide on Tuesday, and I can’t think of a better reason than the dawn of a new era to tie one on so early in the work-week.  But Obama wasn’t the only person that won.  Add my name to the list of winners, and while you are at it, throw yourself on there as well.

See, I wasn’t old enough to participate in the 2000 election that empowered the guy who – if there is any justice in this world – will be remembered as the worst political leader anywhere at anytime, but I did cast a dissenting, losing vote four years later when he was re-elected.  And sure, I voted in the 2006 midterm election, but even if I was the least bit familiar with the Minnesota politicians on the my ballot (which, given the fact I had just barely lived in the state for the 20 day residency requirement, I can assure you I was not) I did want any self-respecting Democrat did and punched the chad of as many candidates with a “(D)” next to their name as they would allow.

It was a pity, too.  Minnesota is home to some thriving third party organizations, and many of the candidates they were fielding not only had a legitimate shot at making it into office, but were on the correct side of most issues as far as I could tell.  At the end of the day, a lot of the people I voted for reaped the spoils of what turned out to be a country-wide wave of Republicans losing their seats in Congress, but the triumph seemed hollow.  Bush and his cronies had so poisoned the political landscape that I walked into that booth defiant and divisive, an admittedly shameful mindset to be in when exercising a constitutional right.

So this was my first taste of the type of meaningful political victory that not only has the potential to change the course of history but also one in which I can take immense personal pride.  I am convinced that the few hours I spent working the phones at my local Obama HQ and the pittance I donated to the cause were instrumental in his victory.  It was my blog posts, the sign I put in my yard, my Facebook profile pic in which I wore one of his T-Shirts, and my particular vote that made the difference.

This may seem like a very arrogant way to look at such a monumentus event.  Maybe that’s true, but I think that everyone – regardless of their party or clique – should feel the same way.  If we all start taking this type of unrelenting, selfish ownership on the political process, the type of change that took place on Tuesday is just the beginning.  Drink it in, my friends.  And keep it up.