Caucusing for Obama

It was an intense experience this evening when I headed into the local elementary school to caucus for Obama with my mother in tow. I had a bit of preliminary work to do during dinner when she revealed that she had some doubts about Obama's healthcare plan and was considering caucusing for Hillary. She said that as a doctor she is a "single-issue voter" with respect to healthcare, but I talked to her over dinner about the fact that both candidates share the same goal of making sure that everyone has access to quality healthcare, and I reminded her of our past discussions about the divisiveness that has soured so much of American politics and Obama's unique ability to inspire people.

The school was packed, and when we finally figured out which room to go to for our precinct, the little elementary-school library was packed. After we got signed in, I led my mother over to the other Obama supporters, and she came willingly. She still hadn't told me for sure that she was going to caucus for Obama, but I think that seeing the huge majority of Obama supporters in the room dispelled whatever lingering doubts she may have had.

The final numbers for our precinct came out to 99 for Obama and 37 for Hillary, and the mood in the room was very positive on both sides, even though the process moved slowly because there were so many people. The delegate numbers came out to seven for Obama and three for Hillary, and without any prior planning, I decided to put my name forward as a possible delegate for Obama at the county convention. There were quite a few other people interested, and to narrow it down the Obama precinct captain asked if anyone would be willing to be an alternate instead. I could see that some of the people were really keen on being delegates, so I took up that offer, and I'm currently one of the seven alternates. I'm glad to be involved even in that little way (and who knows, I might get called to replace one of the delegates), and it was hugely encouraging to see the physical manifestation of the growing support for Obama.

The results for the state of Colorado indicate that Obama across the state by a huge margin, and I feel very proud of my state for so heartily supporting his message of hope.