The past year has flown by in a blink, and I can't believe it is December already! As most Americans are well aware, 2012 was a Presidential Election year and our President of the United States, Barack Obama, was running for re-election.
In 2008, I volunteered quite a bit of my free time to the Obama campaign, mostly during the primaries when Obama was seeking the nomination against Hillary Clinton, but 2012 saw a different campaign, a re-election campaign for our 44th President. I knew early on I was going to get involved, in fact our campaign sign made its debut in the front window of our house from about December 2011 onward, but surprisingly the election didn't really pick up steam until late in the summer of 2012, once we knew Mitt Romney was the official GOP nominee.
Mitt was a scary candidate. It appeared he had a lot of support, he favored the wealthy, and his social blunders were just down right rude…and let's not even talk about his stance on women's rights. The POTUS was not without his own campaign blunders, and missteps but he held true in his stance for equality for all.
I began volunteering in September calling from the Obama campaign phone bank to undecided voters in Nevada and Ohio, I contributed more money than I care to mention , and the amount of campaign gear, signs, and stickers I handed out, wore, or mailed was obscene. I remained confident throughout, that no matter what happened the right man would win the election.
November 6th arrived, and I have to say it was the longest and most stressful day of the year for me. I took the day off work, arrived at the campaign office in Hillcrest around 9am and worked that phone bank until late afternoon. I came home around 5pm, turned on CNN, and sat back to watch the returns…after all the wondering, worrying, and stressing, the time had finally come!
The polls started to close at 3pm PST, and results started to come in around 4:30pm…the first round of results made my heart sink, all middle America states, and all turning red for Romney. Around 7pm the tide started to turn..the numbers started to stack in Obama's favor, swing states started to turn blue, and the momentum picked up quickly. By 10pm the election had been called…
Barack Obama had been re-elected as President of the United States! It felt as if a huge weight had been lifted and I could breathe a sigh of relief. Pure joy and elation! 4 more years!
I can't pretend that a lot of change can happen in this country due to politics, but I can say that I have witnessed history with the election and re-election of the 1st Black American President, and I witnessed it happen because ordinary Americans such as myself were given someone and something to believe in, and we gave ourselves and our time in the hopes of making this country a better place. If nothing else comes of the next four years, at least I saw change in the motivation of young voters, grassroots volunteers, and a shift in the importance of social issues and equality.
Mr. President, I believe in you!
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