Get Out the Vote
I've been snacking too much today, which is a telltale sign of my nervousness. But I don't know why I'm nervous. I'm feeling really good about the outcome of this election tomorrow. When I got home tonight, I got a call from a homey in LA who wanted to hear a good word, and I told him I truly believe it will be close but not razor-thin-close tomorrow: John Kerry will win this comfortably in the Electoral College and in the popular vote. (Eric Alterman is even going so far as giving a 25% chance for a Kerry landslide.)

Still, it's the future, and one can never say with complete certainty what's going to happen when you unleash 120 odd million people in the democratic process. So there's a bit of nervousness.

After getting off the phone with Kevvy Boy Lapp, I tuned into IFC to watch the last half hour of The War Room, and I was brought back to 1992 and the Clinton v Bush The Elder v Perot campaign. I was just starting my life out here in Seattle, and I got very involved with the Clinton campaign along with my good pal and roomie Ward (who has gone onto big things--including the illustration on the front page of the New York Times Week in Review section). One of our biggest moments came at a rally with Al Gore at the University of Washington, where we stood at the foot of the stage handing out stickers.

When the returns started coming in on Election Night and it was obvious that things were moving completely toward Clinton, Ward and his future wife, Sue, and I and others headed down to the big Democratic party at the Westin Hotel and danced and drank the night away. It was such a release, having lived my formative years, from high school through college and beyond, under Republican administrations. And now, everything had changed, and it really felt that the power of the Presidency had changed by the will of the electorate, the people.

This year feels different in some ways, but familiar in others. The negativity of the battle of this campaign has been tough to take at times, and I worry about the schemes that the Republican party has been attempting to implement to disenfranchise voting. But there is a lot to feel very energized and genuinely excited about, especially the huge numbers of voters registering to vote and standing in line for hours in order to place their vote.

If you're feeling nervous, don't. But if you are feeling just the slight bit squeamish, be sure to watch this flash video and visualize winning! Cos we're gonna get these guys.

[Note: The design above has been one of my faves of this campaign season, and was done by Travis Williams, whose logo has been resting atop that Pandagon site for the last couple of months.]

[PS - I'll be celebrating the victory tomorrow night with friends (including Kat over at Spelunker's World) and downing the leftover champagne from our wedding, and I plan to have quite a headache on Wednesday morning.]