Crunch Time

Welcome to November. Hope you had a Happy Halloween. If you are running the Marathon, I hope you are doing it swiftly, and with no extreme discomfort.

The Month of Mick is over. Now, it's all about Getting Out the Vote.

Are you ready for Tuesday? Will you vote? No matter how long the line is?

There has been some fun around this election - for instance the young gentleman in Decatur, Georgia who used Halloween to get out the vote.

There has also been some real nastiness. Lots and lots of nastiness. There is almost no end to the nastiness.

And not all of it has to do with the Presidential Election. There are many important State Elections, including the now-famous Proposition 8 in California. Which is essentially a manifesto of intolerance couched in terms of protecting traditional values.




Is it an exaggeration to compare same-sex marriage to interracial marriage? Is it unfair to suggest that the culture war that is fueling the McCain/Nameless campaign - indeed keeping it alive in the face of overwhelming opposition - is couched in racism and fear? (to clarify for those who wonder why I refer to her this way, I refuse to name her until she makes herself available to the media in a serious way. My heart was warmed when I saw that Christopher Hitchens wrote an article to this effect as well.) I don't think so.

But everywhere you look, people are responding to the hate with logic, eloquent rhetoric, tenacity, and positive energy. And also with some silly good humor. Lots of people. Millions and millions of them.

Some in places you wouldn't necessarily think of. Like Nebraska.


Indiana.


And even Arizona, in groups large and small.




Is it a real movement? It has felt like it at times. I hope it is (and those of you who have known me for a long time know that this whole 'support a Democrat who actually has the nomination' thing is kind of a step to the right for me.) Because it's only through real social movement, with follow up that goes way beyond the election that real change actually happens. And there are moments that this feels like that. And the momentum has felt strong. Dizzyingly so at times. Right now in the key 'battleground state' (man, those war images keep popping up) of Pennsylvania, Cory is getting out the vote in Pittsburgh, and will do her lawyer thing to make sure the polls are safe and fair on Tuesday; and JP is in his hometown of Erie, working insanely long hard hours in his unique fashion, and proving essential to the campaign as their resident 'local' - even advising on the location for an important Bill Clinton appearance on Monday.

Please keep your focus, and keep your energy. Take it moment to moment, as the actors say. Keep your eye on the ball, and take it pitch by pitch, as they say in baseball. Drive through to the finish line in your best final kick, as the marathon runners say.

Are you ready for Tuesday? Will you vote? Will you check on your friends to make sure they vote? Will you make a call to your family (or, if you have time, to a whole bunch of people) and find out if they need help getting to the polls, and that they will cast a vote? No matter how long the line is?

Please say yes. And please vote for Barack Obama.