Yes We Did.

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Last night I cried a whole lot. I mean… the tears just flowed and flowed and I sobbed and sobbed. Oprah calls it the “ugly cry.” The kind where there are heaving breaths mixed with moans of release. Where the normal human desire to contain emotion and politely wipe away a tear loses its battle to the exhaustion of 16 hour days.

In short- yesterday was an eventless day in South Franklin County, OH. So much time and energy had been put into encouraging folks to vote early that there almost wasn’t anyone left to vote on Election Day. Not a bad problem to have. So I spent a lot of time at my staging location making sure staff was fed, that the team assigned to give me continued updates about the polls in my precincts was energetic and on course, and that our targeted voters were getting to the polls.

When the polls closed at 7:30 I had to wait an hour to find out the results for the five polling locations. We won 4 out of 5. One of targeted precincts more than QUADRUPLED the numbers that came in for McCain. So proud. Then I ran to my hosts’ house, put on my fancy boots and makeup (for the first time in weeks) and headed downtown to the Renaissance hotel in Columbus. They had closed the doors to the hotel because there was a fire marshall violation because too many people were crashing the party. Obama fans were literally dancing in the streets. Using my line-hopping skills honed from the LA elite, I got myself and 10 of my co-volunteers into the party.

This was of course just seconds after they announced that we had won Ohio. My phone completely became overwhelmed with the text messages and phone calls I was getting from my friends on the West Coast who were listening to the news back home. Everyone just screamed. The victory party was exactly what you’d expect. Everyone was exhausted– I had literally been up for 20 hours straight and it was only 8 PM! Each time a state was announced- everyone screamed. Each time we were reunited with someone we hadn’t seen in days because we’d all been in satellite offices… we just screamed. There was a lot of screaming.

Campaign workers celebrate

After John McCain’s concession speech, I joined the Obama staff in a more private party across the street. Richard, my fellow Deputy Field Organizer, was literally waiting for me at the door with a glass of champagne. We cried and danced and cried and danced. And then Obama spoke at Grant Park in Chicago. And I literally don’t think it is possible to describe those few minutes.

We huddled into one room where the speech was being projected onto a wall of the bar. Standing room only. My back was pushed up against a field organizer named Curtis. To my left was my original co-canvasser Hila (who cried as loudly as I did, so I wasn’t so embarrassed). To her left was one of the two field organizers from my office, Will- who hasn’t cut his hair in weeks. And in front of me- some other young tall gentleman whom I didn’t know. And we all just held each other and cried. And witnessed history. And cried some more.

I got home after 2 AM after 22 straight hours of work with only a four hour rest. I have pulled a muscle in my back and am definitely succumbing to a cold now that the adrenaline has run off. I have mixed emotions because it seems Prop 8 has passed in CA- but I’ll have to write about that later. It’s too much for right now.

I am incredibly proud of my country. I am incredibly proud of my fellow young people. This campaign was literally run by the 20 somethings that dropped out of school for a semester (or year), quit their jobs, and gave up this moment to history. And what a blessing to hear Barack Obama acknowledge that in his acceptance speech. When he spoke of the young people and continued to utter that now infamously associated phrase “YES WE CAN,” the room full of young staff I was with instead uttered “YES WE DID.”