Arriving here in Wisconsin in late January put us right into the middle of national politics. The isolated Wisconsin primaries actually have quite a bit of effect this time around. I got to go to a nice-sized Obama "town meeting" at an Ag center here in Waukesha. (A friend texted me, "I don't know why all these people are here.... I'm here because my pig is going to win a blue ribbon!") He really is an accomplished orator, and gives a stirring speech. He is able to combine elements that remind me of speeches by FDR, JFK and Al Sharpton (never would vote for him, but what a delivery!) in a very effective way.
Wisconsinites have also been courted by Clinton, McCain and Huckabee, who showed up at the Original Pancake House the day after we had Valentine's Day breakfast. The primaries are open here. I took great pleasure in voting for McCain in the primary, re-visiting my vote eight years ago in the Virginia primary. I still believe that if McCain had been the candidate that year, we wouldn't be in the mess in Iraq we are now. I am hoping the Republican Neo-Conservative nightmare is over and the GOP can get back to its usual business.
As a person who is really pretty fiercely independent, I am crossing my fingers that Obama wins the Democratic nomination. I think an Obama/McCain race would be one focused much more intensely on the issues and with a lot more decorum. The presidential debate might actually be the deciding factor in whom I would support this November.
A nice addendum - our area uses a paper ballot you mark and then place into a optical-scanning ballot box. People who need assistance use a voting machine that marks a paper ballot. I'm not sure I've ever been as confident that my vote has been counted.
Voting is the central sacrament of the American republic, and I don't think I've ever been as excited about it.
David+
