I have so many stories and photos to share already, but it’s midnight and I’m exhausted–we just came back from Joe Biden’s rally in South Philly–and tomorrow I’m going to be on my feet all day, until the polls close. So I’ll only tell one before going to sleep.
One of the many doors that I knocked on this morning in North Philadelphia was answered by an elderly African-American man. When I asked him if he knew where his polling place was and if he or anyone else in the house would need a ride to get there, he laughed and told me he planned on driving voters himself. We started talking–about the foreclosure crisis, about education and how hard it is for kids to get college loans now, about CNN campaign coverage, about health care and Iraq (his son, who’s a Vietnam veteran, had a stroke earlier this year and is having trouble getting help). He told me he doesn’t think it’s been this bad in the country since Hoover was president, and he remembers Hoover. The first vote he cast in a presidential election was in 1948, for Truman. He’ll be working the polls on Tuesday, and on Wednesday he’ll turn eighty-five. So tomorrow is Mr. Tucker’s birthday present. The country had better deliver.
(and happy birthday also today to Buchu, who complained about it being ruined four years ago–we’ll give you reason to celebrate this time, I think.)
4 Comments
November 5, 2008 at 3:35 am
What a day! I was very impressed by Obama’s victory speech- it was incredibly thoughtful and there wasn’t the jingoism that I was expecting.
Incidentally, I was reading some comments on Fox News and there are some conservatives who are so upset by the result of this election they want to move to….Canada!
November 5, 2008 at 12:29 pm
i found myself at the lab on monday morning, reading political articles and realizing i made a huge mistake in coming back to NYC, so a friend and i drove back to philly that night. i “line managed” a polling station in north philly yesterday from start to finish, and the experience was incredible: such a sense of community among the voters, such pride in voting. a woman screamed at 7:10am and the whole crowd applauded her excitement. first time voters received hugs and handshakes. the mood was incredible, and the two roving packs of republicans (white, in suits, and never spoke to anyone) could feel it.
it sucked when it started to drizzle, but the seattlite in me came prepared, plus my friend and i had the obama campaign’s white coats to wear. the warm coffee was a welcome relief! i hope you enjoyed your efforts as well.
November 5, 2008 at 2:48 pm
Buchu dear, enjoy the moment. I’m glad you were here for this one too.
Ganesh: where were you? I was in Strawberry Mansion–Ward 28–from early morning until four minutes before the polls closed. We canvassed every turf in the ward two or three or four times over the course of the day, and the mood was, yes, incredible. People were out on the corners stopping their neighbors, shouting into windows, have you voted yet?
And Broad Street past midnight was one hell of a party. I’m so glad I was here for this.
November 5, 2008 at 9:07 pm
i was at 4821 Greene Street, which according to GoogleMaps, is the Nicetown-Tioga neighborhood of Philly. It looks like I was a mile or two north of you.
That’s great that you canvassed. We just stayed at the polling station all day, chatting with people. After a few hours, we found chairs to use, which made the experience much more enjoyable.
We returned to Brooklyn when the polls closed. Brooklyn EXPLODED: dancing in the streets, cars honking non-stop, bars spiled out with revelers, and lines of people formed to give high-fives to anyone who passed by. It was incredible!