We awoke today at 3:30 and made it south to the Memorial Coliseum in Portland by 5 am. We weathered the cold for couple hours, and when the doors opened at 7:30, soon somehow we found ourselves miraculously seated in the front row directly behind the stage. Wow! The energy in the room became electrified as the stadium filled with people. Glad to be where it was warm, we prepared to make ourselves at home for the next few hours. We heard rumors of a security breach narrowly averted at the gates, which delayed things a little. There were a few empty seats in the rafters but the room was full after about an hour, and the floor overflowed with smiling faces crowded to edges around the stage.
While waiting for Senator Obama and Governor Bill Richardson to take appear, we marveled at how fortunate we were just being there to begin with, the mixture of luck and intentionality that had brought us to our seats. We were thankful to be inside out of the cold, and about to see Obama, the next President of the United States. I thanked a watchful secret service agent standing nearby for taking good care of our candidate. He nodded, and said that the closer we got to the election, the more power they would have to protect him.
I conversed with a young man who had come down to the front to view the crowd. I like to look at everyone’s faces, he said, a great deal of hope and wonderment evident in his own. As we spoke of the campaign’s progress, he told me that he felt something of a predestined nature in Barack’s path, as if, he said, the footsteps leading to this stage where Senator Obama would deliver his speech this morning, were steps that had somehow been cast long ago; that nothing would, nothing could stand between Barack and taking his place in history as the next President’s of the United States. That this thing we’ve all been about in this campaign had come too far, that in essence the die had been cast, there was no turning back. His eyes watered some at those words, as did my own. I looked around. There was a lot of soul in this room, a lot of heart, and alot of higher purpose.
When his speech was over, Barack climbed down the stairs to shake hands and exchange greetings with folks there now pressing the rails to perhaps get close enough to shake his hand. A young African American boy made his way down the steps tying to find a path through. I said, “Come on in here, young man, and made room for him at the front just next to us. And as Barack made his way around the line, when he came to us I reached out to shake his hand, “Barack, we love you!” I said. “Thank you for your support,” he replied, a smile on his face. We thanked him again, and said God bless you for doing this thing that needs doing. And he smiled a big grin, and said thank you. I was impressed with his calm determination, and how evident it was what a great guy he was! When he saw the boy, he stopped and spoke a little while with him, before moving on down the line. Soon Bill Richardson was before us shaking our hands, another great guy with a contagious smile, another true blue Democrat.
Wow! I came away feeling energized and honored, with a renewed sense of resolve to give my best for the Obama campaign here in Clark County. Knowing the crucial nature of the Obama delegate count going into the Clark County convention and beyond, as Bill Richardson said today, it’s time for the Democratic Party to come together and select Barack as our candidate, so that we can stop the in fighting, and begin taking John McCain to task in the general election.
To my way of thinking, it’s going to continue to be a mix of commitment, tenacity and luck, of intentionality and of timing on all our parts, to put Obama over the top in the delegate count nationally. Each of us as Clark County delegates will play an important role, let there be no mistake. Although we know Hillary should throw in the towel today, given her slim to none chances of success—it still ain’t over till it’s over. So we’ll not only need to maintain our Obama delegate count, making sure those committed to Obama remain so--if delegates can change their minds--then at least in my view, we might as well also be all about ways of helping Hillary’s delegates come to their senses and support Barack instead.
Anyway, I’m looking very forward to the delegate training coming up before the convention. And in finding ways to be of service where I can.
Barack represents the change we can believe in.
Best,
Mike George
http://luciafalls.com
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