In five days, we’ll have selected a new president, at least in theory (we all know how long vote counting takes these days). I woke up this morning totally oblivious to that fact because I am so not a morning person. Actually all I could think about was “Alarm going off. Where snooze?” as I devolve into caveman speech in the morning. After I was a little more awake, though, it all came crashing back. How close this election is (I saw very low poll numbers yesterday in my hours of watching MSNBC, and they worried me), how much is riding on it, and how little time we have until this, too, is history and we have to live with it one way or the other. I’m telling you right now, if we have another election night like 2000 or 2004, I am going to need some really strong booze to get through it.
I have this wild hope growing inside of me right now, and all it will take to make it a reality is if ordinary people like all of you remember that in America, the people are supposed to have a hand in politics. We choose who we want in office, we have the right to call them and say “Hey, I think you should oppose this law or support this one,” and we can actually run for office if we have the inclination. Focusing on that first one, I really believe that in an election like this, choosing who you want in office doesn’t begin and end with going to the polling place. There are things you can do, like calling people, driving elderly and disabled to the polls, knocking on doors, and if you don’t have the time to do any of that, you can give money to a campaign so it has the funding to hire people who do.
I know. You’ve been hearing stories about how much money Obama has in his “war chest.” That money is getting used up big time right now. The last few days of a campaign are an all out blitz, getting the candidate and his endorsers to key rallies all over the country, running ads to combat robocalls, getting out the vote, all of that. If I have to eat a little ramen because I’m giving the man another thirty dollars today, then so be it. That money is needed.
Volunteers are also needed, however. If you go to BarackObama.com and feel like skipping the donation part, on the right hand of the page are tons of ways that you can volunteer. You can make calls (either by finding a phonebank or from your own house), or knock on doors, or drive to a battleground state this weekend and get out the vote there. Jordana and I made phone calls from a phonebank Wednesday night, and it was really kind of great. We were calling people in Ohio to make sure they knew about early voting and were taking advantage of it (early voting means that if for some reason they tell you you’re ineligible to vote, you have time to report that and still get your vote in before Tuesday). We talked to people who had voted for Obama and people who hadn’t, and while Barack Obama is the candidate I support, as long as I heard that someone voted I said “That’s awesome. Thank you for doing that.” That’s what it’s all about, people. Voting. Getting people engaged in our government again. I was nervous as hell when I started making calls, but fairly soon I remembered these were just people like I am, and this election is something we’re all going through together.
Tonight we’re taking Samang out for her first trick-or-treat, but tomorrow we start back on the phone calls. Because time is running out, and I am still way too unsure of how this is going to turn out to sit back and relax. There will be time for that later.