Halfway through the program, MediaLizzy joins to discuss the overwhelmingly self-reinforcing comments on our HuffPost piece. I’ve never been fond of pundits who can’t take criticism, but I was shocked by the number of readers who really believe that Republicans are predominantly whack jobs. I wanted to write the post because there are compelling people like Lizzy out there who are going to emerge as the new leaders of the party. They need to organize better online and we progressives need to start listening to them instead of immediately pointing fingers at Fox News and RedState. (Read Federalist No. 10 if you’ve got doubts about tyranny of the majority.) The comments are the equivalent of suggesting that liberals can only be characterized by Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton. Looks like some liberals have let this victory get them a lil bit sassy pants. 

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So … reallllllllly need to go to bed so that I don’t sleep through my plane tomorrow morning, or our fantastic Wilshire & Washington with Harvard KSG genius Zach Tumin, who will discuss how Obama’s victory will also be a win for technology and a new era of governance.

Still, a few thoughts for those of you who have followed me on this wild two-year journey.

It was a weird day because I decided to stay home in Los Angeles and run the local voting precinct, a choice that prevented me from paying too close of attention to media coverage, watching Obama’s speech until just now, or even celebrating with the usual suspects. Frankly, this was a bit sad. Still, it was a fantastic experience in the kind of grassroots activism this revival has always been about. I suppose I could have been traipsing through Grant Park with stars in my eyes, but I’ve gotten plenty of that over the last couple years and I’m very proud to have ensured that more than 500 people in my own community were able to fairly and efficiently cast their votes in this historic election. This is especially important to me since it’s always bothered me that California gets treated like an ATM machine when it comes to electoral politics. Waiting in line Sunday to vote in Norwalk and working with my amazing team in Silverlake today was exactly the call to service Obama made in his speech tonight. (Also, check out the pictures of my goofy precinct — which was actually a furniture store — in the gallery! Well, everyone but my ex-boyfriends. I woke up at 4:30am and didn’t shower today and I don’t want to spoil any remaining fond memories.)

We all need to ask ourselves what it was specifically that got us engaged in this campaign, and make a new commitment to continuing our efforts in that niche. For me, the issues of youth civic participation, gay marriage (which, sadly, we appear to have lost the battle on tonight in CA), immigration, ending the war in Iraq, technology legislation, and election reform continue to be the cornerstones of my personal engagement. Once I recover and celebrate for a beat, I hope to delve deeply into those arenas.

Beyond that, I’ve been working on some longer essays about lessons from the campaign trail that it’s now time to finish. Lately it has seemed like the schizophrenia of the blogosphere has impeded my ability to be analytically compelling. My Twitter issues alone have stymied many a great commentary; don’t even talk about my addictions to Facebook, Talking Points Memo and Blog Talk Radio. I love the instantaneous information, but as I cultivate this site and the conversations I’m instigating I hope to err on the side of quality. With that said, I am off to San Francisco for the Web 2.0 Summit, where I’ll be pondering some exciting questions with many great minds, and also writing writing writing. More later this week.

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“Fortunately, the people waiting with us concurred. At 9am, we were strangers, but by 2pm we were the best of friends. After dispatching Shannon to McDonalds (which was so packed with herds of hungry would-be voters she actually had to wait in line for almost an hour there!) to fuel up for our never-ending voyage, we were swapping stories about our vastly different lives, sharing resources to build a makeshift camp of our chairs and jackets, and filming impromptu videos with our camera phones to upload later on YouTube. We were having such a hoot that an intrigued NBC reporter stopped by to interview us, a motley crew consisting of a dad from Altadena, a mom and son from Inglewood, a couple of sisters from Hawthorne, a dad and his young son still clad in his Halloween Spiderman costume, a recent college grad from Manhattan Beach, and Shannon and I from hipster gentrified Highland Park.”

Tonight, though, as I set my alarm for 7am to head down to Norwalk in the morning to cast my vote after almost two years on the campaign trail, it is simply impossible to be so small minded. Frankly, I just feel blessed. I realized while brushing my teeth that I have been waiting for this day for all of my politically-conscious life. We all have an opportunity that no American before us has ever had: the privilege to cast a vote against the discrimination and hatred that has sullied our nation’s lofty ideals since the country’s inception. It is the realization of bold thinking and immense sacrifice, including many great leaders who gave their lives so that this could be possible. I am honored to participate, and also to work at my polling place on Tuesday to ensure that my neighbors are able to relish their personal experience.

This will be one of my proudest days as an American, even though our country faces some of the most challenging circumstances in our history. I’ve been (slowly) reading one of Arianna’s older books this month, “The Fourth Instinct,” and today this passage stood out:

“It is not for reasons of divine economy alone that the ancient Chinese ideogram for crisis is the same as that for opportunity: the moment of crisis and supreme danger, whether in the life of an individual or in the life of a community, is also the moment of the greatest opportunity for renewal.”

Outcome aside, this campaign has already renewed so much of my faith and determination. Not just because it was exciting, inspiring or high-stakes. It’s been in the hearts of the friends I’ve made, and in seeing our commitment to activism and leadership grow in cities all across America. We’ve crossed paths in Des Moines, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, Denver and beyond, but their spirits and our shared belief in goodness and the possibilities for our future is something I carry with me everywhere.

Edana, Megan, Shannon, Emma, BSpack, Deb, Calysta, OJ, Greggers, Yosi, D, Boon, Bim, Blaise, Jill: I am so proud and grateful for you.

My political pals have all been whispering to me about how insulting it is that Bill is just now stepping in at the last dirty second, and I don’t doubt their observations. Still, whenever I watch the former Prez at game time I can’t help but salute the master. Barackstar has studied his predecessors well, blending his inspirational oratory skills with Reagan and Bill’s moderate language and (subtle) Joe Six Pack delivery, plus a healthy dose of Howard Dean’s internet savvy. I’ll be flabbergasted if this doesn’t equal a win next Tuesday.

After the giggles, Campus Politico’s Ben Adler discusses what youth organizers are doing in the final days of the Obama and McCain campaigns. Ted also asks Teresa and I to weigh in on Barackstar’s 30-minute infomercial tonight (is it a risk that could backfire?), as well as Biden’s run-in with the Orlando, Fla., reporter who confronted him about Republican charges that an Obama administration would be a socialist regime.

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