As I write this I can hear beeps from cars passing Obama volunteers with signs.  The response has been enormously positive, with only a stray middle finger or scowl from an old McCain/Palin supporter to suggest they even exist.  When I went to vote, I saw about 8 Obama volunteers next to one McCain/Palin volunteer.  Since I went at lunch, there was no line (although we did have a bit of confusion about where in the library to vote, at one point I joked perhaps either the nonfiction or the large print aisles were the spot to be).

While there was no line at my polling location, there was a line at Obama hq.  People were standing in line to volunteer!  Inside, they had us waiting in a room that was burning up from all the body heat.  Not because they didn’t have enough signs.  Because so many people were coming into help they were having trouble keeping up placing them where they were needed most.

Helping out with visibility was like yesterday.  People gave thumbs up, grinned, shouted “Go Obama!”, beeped (sometimes repeatedly), and pumped their fists.  One driver in an suv pulled up and handed me a water bottle!  Another woman crossing the street stopped by to offer to buy me a drink from Cosi.  We regularly got compliments and instructions to “keep up the good work” from passersby.  Two old ladies walking back from voting strolled past headed to starbucks for their free coffee.  One gave my shoulder a playful punch saying “We done voted, don’t get wet now!” with a big grin.  It was raining, and not a McCain/Palin volunteer in sight.  Just grins and Obama/Biden signs.

I didn’t see anywhere near this kind of enthusiasm or turnout in 2006.  Today Virginia feels blue.

Posted under News, Politics

The Facebook group Obama Out of Afghanistan came to my attention.

My first thought: Why not send Obama to Afghanistan? They’ll make quick work of the warrior-king.

My second thought: Wait. His replacement would be Joe Biden, a hawk who supported the Iraq Massacre.

My third thought: How far down the Presidential line of succession would we have to go to find a principled anti-war Presidential replacement?

The answer: assuming that Congress stays in Democratic hands, it would be to number four Robert Byrd.

I don’t see Nancy Pelosi as a serious opponent of war (and I hope Cindy Sheehan kicks her ass). Byrd, however, has been a leading voice in the Senate against the Iraq war, and he opposed funding for Afghanistan as well. He did support Clinton’s war against Serbia, and his overall record is not especially progressive, but he’s still pretty good for an Exalted Cyclops. Besides, if he’s not counted as an anti-war potential successor, you could go all the way down the list and reach (ugh) Michael Chertoff, without reaching anyone who is as anti-war as Byrd.

Posted under People, Politics