Obama Gossip - Notes From A Swing State: My Life As An Obama Supporter In Pittsburgh, Pa

Wow, what a week! We're exhausted and giddy.

All the door knocking, registering voters, phone calling, emails, pestering people in line to the rally... It really worked! We were still calling people up ten minutes before the polls were closing - telling them that if they're in line by 8pm, they have the right to vote; if they needed a ride, we'd come and pick them up... It was heartening to hear people on the street, asking each other if they'd voted yet. We had record voter turn outs here in PA... with a little help from our friends.

I met people from both East and West coast blue states, here in Pittsburgh for just one purpose - to help Obama get elected. Not just young people, but people of all ages, taking time off work to crash on someone's couch, just to help the cause! And then there were the bus loads of college kids from NY, here to help us in the last few days before the election. When was the last time we had a truly grass roots campaign like that?

Judging from conversations with our friends, neighbors, and total strangers here, we were worried. It seemed like so many people had serious issues with Barak Obama. Most of these concerns were based on lies spread by the McCain campaign, and no amount of reason succeeded in dispersing these fears.

Considering the outcomes of the last two presidential elections and conversations with people here on the ground, we were afraid all the lying and cheating might be working. Even normally reasonable, intelligent people were planning to vote against Obama! With such a weird/unusual/Muslim name, a childhood so different from most people here, and dark skin, he aroused much suspicion. Could someone like that really be one of the good guys?

So many here couldn't get past all that, to hear what he was actually saying, to realize that he was one of the brightest, most inspiring leaders we've had in a long time, that he actually had viable ideas and plans, and was probably just what we needed to get us out of the mess we're in...

I heard objections like, "he's not our type", "he doesn't look like a president", and "I can't vote for him - he'll only look out for his people".

People were getting robocalls saying that due to the expectation of an unusually high voter turn out, Republicans should vote on November 4th, and Democrats on November 5th! And they were calling our volunteers, posing as Obama campaign staff, telling volunteers who signed up for shifts that they would not be needed! This was after we'd spent much time and energy signing up volunteers for the final days!

I was already imagining my disillusionment if all these slimy tactics would cost us the election, with so much at stake! Even friends from abroad were anxious for Obama to win, since the fate of the US will certainly affect the fate of the rest of the world.

Imagine the exhilaration when the numbers started coming in, and a large room full of exhausted campaign staff and volunteers started realizing that things were looking good after all. We were at our local campaign headquarters, and as soon as we were pretty confident that we couldn't lose, and after all the cheering, hugging and crying, we all headed down to the "big party", at the local union hall. By that point, we all really needed a drink.

We got to the big party, and I can't remember the last time I saw so many happy people in one place. The numbers kept coming in on the big screen, and the hugging and cheering continued. We heard local politicians and campaign organizers speak.

I missed McCain's concession speech while waiting in the bathroom line, which was probably more fun anyway.

Suddenly, I'm actually feeling hopeful. I know it sounds like a cliche by now, but I truly feel it, as do many others I've met in this journey. I've been asking myself, my friends and enemies: what will need to happen to get us out of the mess we've gotten into in the last eight years. I really think Barak Obama has had the best answers to this question.

I know change doesn't come quickly, and I know it won't be easy. But I'm certain now that soon we'll be headed in the right direction.

Maybe there's hope for democracy after all!

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Emilie Nottle is a graphic and web designer who recently moved to Pittsburgh, PA. Stop by her website to learn more about her work.

Tags: West Coast, Time Off, Presidential Elections, Conversations With People, Swing State <BR/>