Wednesday saw my return to San Francisco from Corpus Christi, Texas, where I had joined the Obama for America campaign's final sprint to the Texas Two-Step as a volunteer. Long story made short: it was an amazing experience. The spirit, determination, energy, and intelligence of the people working and volunteering for the campaign are nothing short of breathtaking. Frankly, I'm addicted, and can't see any other reasonable option but to rejoin the ground operation in Pennsylvania in advance of their April 22nd primary.
Fellow volunteers -- two of whom also hail from the S.F. Bay Area.
While I certainly didn't expect to have a bad time, it hadn't really occurred to me how many cool people I'd actually meet -- and furthermore, how many of those people would end up being San Francisco locals. On top of that, a lot of these people have an endless string of experience and connections to grassroots progressive democratic political campaigns in California, which served (and I hope will continue to serve) as a wellspring of inspiration and resources for the CA-44 congressional campaign on which I'm helping out.
Representin' in front of the Obama banner
Harry, one of the [serious] brains behind the operation
Katie was notably free of influence from PACs or lobbyists.
Kenya in front of the Texas flag.
On election night... the schwag distribution table!
While I think it's unfortunate that Sen. Clinton's rather shameless tactics of FUD and diversion from the real issues facing the country played the media as effectively as they did, my experiences and observations during the Texas primaries leaves me more certain than ever that Barack Obama is the first (and only) candidate we've seen in -- well, as long as I've been watching politics -- who has the potential to effect positive change in our national political dialogue, as well as the country as a whole. And that, my friends, is not only a run-on sentence, but also my conclusion. Seeya next time!