logo

A Special Night in Ohio

By L. Russell Allen - Nov 6th, 2008 at 11:56 am

Well, I finally figured out how to vote in Ohio without waiting in long lines. The trick was to apply for an absentee ballot (total wait time: 20 minutes) and fill it out immediately. Keep that in mind for 2012, voters.

With voting out of the way, I got to spend Election Night at a party hosted by the Ohio Democratic Party. This was my first experience watching politicos drink and celebrate and mourn after their months of hard work have come to an end. For the Democrats this year, the happy news outweighed the local candidates who lost their election. Barack Obama won the state, the only statewide candidate, Treasurer Richard Cordray, won the Attorney General race in a landslide, and the Dems took control of the state House of Representatives for the first time in over a decade. So, I got to see a happy party instead of a sad one. Most of the tears were shed as result of Senator Obama’s victory.

With the party in celebration mode, it became difficult to consider exactly what the Democrats had accomplished. People were dancing, drinking, patting each other on the back. It became a contest to see how many floors one could imbibe a drink on. I got up to five. Bloody Mary (after 5 pm, what a faux pas) on the third, 7-Up and vodka on the 9th, Bud Light on the 4th. Could have gotten to six but I didn’t hit the hotel bar in the lobby.

So while everyone was dancing, drinking, and patting each other on the back, I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. The Dems won. They were happy.

Then a friend of mine from DC called. I never thought of him as a political person. Traditionally we talked about sports and bad movies. So I was surprised when he called me with a hush in his voice. He was near speechless. His mom had called him after Obama clinched the election. She was crying.

Now, I saw a lot of people crying in Ohio on Tuesday night. Most of them were my age (25). I was happy for them and a little bit jealous that the moment hadn’t washed over me. I was at a party of happy people and that was that. But speaking to my friend and hearing about his mom, that hit it home for me. This wasn’t our election to cry over.

Jesse is absolutely right to say that electing a black man does not mean that America can move beyond race. But the progress that’s been made in the past 40 years has never been made clearer. And though we as progressives have fought hard for equality, it’s a fight that’s been long in the making. Our moms and dads have fought for decades for this moment. A moment that would have been unthinkable in our parents’ lifetimes.

We cry because we see the progress that we can continue to make in the future. They cry because of what their efforts have led to. I would never argue that the past is more important than the future, but it’s certainly allows for more sentiment and emotion. So while the emotion on display from my peers was poignant, it didn’t hold a candle to my imagining the millions of older Americans shedding tears because they have fought so long for this moment. That got me. And those Americans should be in our minds over the next four years.

Tags: 2008 presidential electoin, Barack Obama