O-BA-MA !

=| Yes !

Verrry interesting evening, I must admit, although it entails letting a cat out of my bag, so to speak. Not that it matters much ...

I'm a Labor guy and a Yellow-Dog Democrat from way back. Deep down, I am a small-s socialist ~ some of my (human) Best Buds even call me a "godless communist" ~ a real 'Power to the People' guy. Always have been. Do you mind ? Do I care !

There never was much doubt what candidate I preferred. Got on Obama wagon after Iowa ~ yes, he can! ~ and did my part in organized Labor's canvasses to reel in Joe & Josie Sixpax who had insufficiently transmitted their intention to stand square for the Endorsee of their Brothers & Sisterhood ... twas not at all a "vote for Obama or we break your legs" sort of thing, just a simple love-tap in the name of Solidarity with a message that we cared.

Hey, you can laugh, but the return of Human Contact to presidential politix is one of the blessings of this election cycle. When Howard Dean went to the Democratic National Committee he was the guy who caught nothing but crap about (re)building party infrastructure in all fifty states, which had a lot to do with winning, didn't it ? The political infrastructure is shifting, and its new forms are going to have a lot to do with governing. Getting out & about and engaging people about your candidate and your issues, well ... better get with it.

Which is what we did last night. Small group, all Democrats, mostly female, mostly dark-skinned ... we watched the Democratic tide roll westward as the clock rolled around to 8:00-PM PST. When the West Coast polls closed and the inevitable was confirmed, such dancing & screaming ! The cackle of cell phones going out all over the world ... "You watching?" "We did it!" There was an AfrAm woman here old enough to Remember the signs of segregation in Petersburg, Virginia. She called home. "Can you believe ... "

I was pretty calm about it. This Old Boy can't dance anyway, doctors orders. No jumping around or any of that stuff for me, thanks. Am an Observer by temperament, tend to sit still while world is bouncing around about me. Useful trait for historians, ethnologists, sports officials ... had also been watching polls closely all month, especially at Pollster.com where the Man Behind the URL is MB, a Running Dawg colleague from Meesh-ee-gan. He was half the Brain Trust behind the Gary Hart insurgency not quite 25 years ago. It was crystal clear from Pollster that Obama wasn't just going to win, he was going to win Big in terms of electoral votes. Thus I was just watching the clock, doing the math, computing time & distance until the Big Hand pointed up enough times.

There was another vote that had started to come in about the time McCain started to dust off the Concession Speech, in local issue in Michigan that didn't attract as much attention as it might. I had every reason to expect it to win, but it represented the Political Hope of my adult lifetime and I was extraordinarily nervous about it. The Marijuana Policy Project underwrote a ballot initiative to allow medical use of cannabis in Michigan, dropping about $1.3m into paying the costs of qualifying properly and perhaps $300,000 more when the Loyal Opposition made a belated, lunatic appearance in the last month.

September polls had been in the mid 60% range in support, but Proposal One may have slipped a few points in October ~ hard to tell compare results where questions are phrased differently, and variance in results hovering near the margin of error. Last poll I heard had started to trend up again, but there was no telling what might/could happen with a Marijuana Question at the end of a long ballot in a year such as this. In an election year of real economic calamity, I heard nothing of the economics of cannabis in the mainstream press, electronic or otherwise. Watching CNN has become like reading a comic book.

Vox populi indeed. It was just up to Us, for better or worse.

~

First numbers were 63% Yes with just 18% of precincts reporting. I kept wandering back to one of the computers to refresh. The Buddhist offered a bowl of Maui Wowie and I watched slack-jawed as precincts came rolling in ... the percentage remained unchanged. Raw votes rose in tandem, and when I get gbetter numbers from another source I could see what was in was from the more rural and conservative parts of the state ~ holy shit, campus and urban zones hadn't as yet been tabulated !?! Good lord ... this thing wasn't just going to pass, it was going to blow the fuckin' doors in.

The percentage never changed.The numbers rose in lockstep until Yes had 3,008,980 of 4,801,850 votes cast. Carried every county in the state, every legislative district. There were more votes cast in the Presidential selection [5,006,550], of course, but Obama's 2,875,308 was less than the number cast for medpot. Nothing, not No Body, ever got 3,000,000 votes in a Michigan election before. The Marginalized Minority, my beloved Lunatic Fringe, is now the Michigan Majority.

Vox populi !

I've since picked myself up, dusted off, and still having trouble letting the Reality sink in. Now I've lived long enough to see us elect Obama on his own merit, and to anticipate the date I will no longer be an Outlaw in my state ~ somewhere around 4 December, by crude calculation. New law takes effect ten days after certification of result later this month. Will be checking in with physician shortly about getting in line even before I return to Michigan, in the heart of the Upper Great Lakes.

Far Out, indeed.



= 05 Nov 08