What will you remember most?

As we wind our way towards Inauguration day and the start of an historic Presidency what stands out in your mind from this election?

For some the Primary was the hardest part to watch and will be etched in their minds even as Hillary joins Barack in Washington.

For some it will be the mindless hockey Mom from the tundra.

For others it will be the negativity of the McCain campaign and the dirty tricks of the Repugs.

For some it will be election night and that wonderous feeling we had when the unthinkable became fact.



For me I will never forget the crowds. Never. They gave me more goosebumps than anything since we landed on the Moon.







How about you?

I've never experienced anything like it.

I wonder what kind of records his Inauguration breaks?

The tunouts usually surpass anything I would expect.

Something that I really thought I'd never see.

The prospect of a new day still inspires me. The fact that this man is so intelligent and so calm in the face of such huge challenges makes me a bit calmer. And pride, pride in our next president and the positive potential for our future. Finally, it's nice to feel wanted by the rest of the world for a change.

I think it will be many things simultaneously, especially given my involvement. Things that come my mind are that this is the first time I've been a delegate, the organized grassroots involvement of so many different types of people, the long line going to see Michelle speak, the Jefferson Jackson dinner as Obama came out to speak in Raleigh as well as election night itself. I have lots of memories and memorabilia already.

enduring the hellish slog of the last 8 years under ethically vacuous people like Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld and Rice and right on down the list of macabre, blood-sucking, oil thieves and clueless fools and fixers who comprised his administration.

And the media-complicit fake outrage over Jeremiah Wright to which Obama responded with the address on race in Philadelphia.

Forget the polls.

When that many people from all walks of life turn out to see our man......the polls became meaningless.

to listen.

And there was that jolt of excitement when, two hours or so into Election Night, Indiana had still not been called. When a Republican presidential nominee can't flip on the tube on Election Night and see Indiana real red real early, then a momentous change is at hand.

And Barack Obama brung it big time.

in what was to be a series of them.

And it was the FIRST time that many thought seriously that Obama could WIN this thing! It was a night of history, of tears, or hopefulness, of happiness. I knew it was historical. But I was unprepared for what it meant to so many, really. It was more moving than I'd thought it would be.

November third, I went into work at 10pm. The night dragged on longer than usual, wanting nothing more than for the clock to strike six so I could get on my bike and ride to the polling place (fortunately enough, it was on the way home). I waited another hour for the polls to open, I was the 13th person in my ward to vote.

I spent the rest of the day - aside from the three hours Stephanie Miller was on - working with the campaign. For six hours I canvassed four wards, until my legs were ready to commit a coup d'etat. When I couldn't walk anymore, I phone-banked, up until the very minute the polls closed. Then watching the coverage at the campaign office, my laptop open, 538 and Huffpo and MSNBC.com tabbed - I was calling states before the networks did (one guy even started calling me 'John King' ).

I hadn't slept yet. I was running on a combination of caffeine, nicotine, adrenaline, and the beautiful blue eyes of the girl running the office.

After it was called, and I finally allowed them to pop the champagne, we made a sudden decision to race down to the Monona Terrace convention center, to watch the victory speech on the big screen. We got there forty-five seconds after he started speaking.

I don't remember the rest of the night. Sleep deprivation and alcohol are my excuses :P

Working with the other volunteers, talking with voters.
Meeting Bob Casey.
The victory party in Boston.

...the only time Barack Obama's voice betrayed him, as he told the crowd (of 25,000?) about losing Toot. That rally and the one in Harrisonburg, VA in the rain the day before were very powerful moments. After the Manassas rally, I thought maybe, just maybe, we had it.

threatened to leave the country in the event of an Obama victory.

I liked that Jackson Browne and many other musicians took McCain to task for his misappropriation of their work.

I liked that just prior to the official announcement in Dayton, Ohio of Palin's selection as McCain's veep nom, she was flown into Middletown, Ohio and stayed at the Manchester where hardly anyone there knew who the hell she was.

I liked how Bob Herbert and Frank Rich were on this early on and right on.

As the election approached, I suddenly heard more and more people - in the shops, the plants, the loading dock and the fields - saying "we need another New Deal." As I heard that more and more from more and more people - like a swelling chorus of voices - I realized that Reganomics was finally dead. I will never forget that.