“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.

One would-be attendee complained to ABC7 in Denver:

“My whole reason why I’m so mad about it is because Democrats need to act like Democrats,” said Heather Kreider, a working mother from Centennial.

“Democrats work for a living, and they have to work and take care of their families. And they say these are open to those in the community, so they shouldn’t ask people to drop everything in their lives for this,” Kreider said Tuesday.

That’s just absolutely absurd. It is ridiculously easy to volunteer for field work. Pack up the kiddos and teach them how to stuff envelopes instead of some other personal activity. If you can’t afford to leave the house for four hours, you could swap out the gas money by making local phone calls from your home using MyBO. I have met single moms, impoverished couch-surfing college kids - and even a homeless guy! - who have traveled all over the country to show their support. If you’re not willing to sacrifice, stay home.

What troubles me more about this, though, is a broader fear I have about some of the senators lipservice supporters. His candidacy has been built on the shoulders of community organizing and grassroots activism. It’s because real people have physically worked their asses off to raise awareness about progressive causes. You don’t get one without the other. A gust of change winds is not going to knock us all over at the inauguration in January. Real change-agents take ownership of their activism beyond showing up at sexy events or casting (and promptly forgetting) a single vote every four years.

Teresa was full of interesting thoughts on the Paris video, and we also discussed off-shore drilling flip flops, Bill Clinton’s post-primary activities and the Ron Suskind book allegations about the Bush Administration’s forged WMD note.

Click the play button on the blue Blog Talk Radio box on the right >> to listen.

I’m just really disappointed that Britney didn’t show up at the end to make out.

John McCain once famously proclaimed that the media was his “base,” and as last week’s W&W guest and Straight Talk Express veteran, Seattle PI cartoonist David Horsey, pointed out: Many members of the media have long relationships with and like McCain better than Obama.

This scenario isn’t a far cry from what Obama faced in Iowa last fall when the media insisted that HRC was going to clobber him. The news coverage relied heavily on conventional wisdom and did not take into account the arrival of Obama’s 1-2 punch: grassroots activism and new media tools. While friends were quoting polling data they’d seen on TV, I was countering with finance and participation numbers from My.BarackObama.com. I’d easily gauge public opinion based on thousands of college kids donating $25 more than I would a hermit with a home phone line to answer at dinnertime.

The effectiveness of this strategy was abundantly clear when I arrived in Iowa. The first thing my field team leader taught us - which Megan and I still tease each other relentlessly over - was the motto: “Respect. Empower. Include.” The Council Bluffs, Iowa, team had been infiltrating communities, forging alliances with opinion leaders and enhancing the power of in-person connection with the reinforcement of new technologies for more than a year. Any of the residents could have told us what the pundits started singing on Jan. 4. Kennedy-esque, yada yada.

He’s not going to have that much time in Florida and Ohio, but if his upheaval of the Clinton legacy (particularly in the traditionally red states) is any indication of the power of the 50-state ground strategy, McCain might as well  get nice and cozy at one of the many retirement communities in Arizona.

It wasn’t particularly relevant to our nation’s governance when Bill did not have sexual relations with Monica, and Edwards’ alleged infidelity is no different. It is, however, culturally relevant in this year of the empowered female electorate; even if you’re not interested in gawking at the juicy details (great HuffPost by Lee Stranahan here), you have to consider the plight of the wives of powerful men.

We’ve had three great examples this year: HRC (The Real Comeback Kid), Elizabeth Edwards (The Stoic Survivor), and Silda Spitzer (The Scorned Woman). All three intelligent, respectable women in one way or another who are handling the situation in their own ways. In any case, it’s not particularly encouraging to us single women looking for a stimulating partnership that can nurture our personal strengths and objectives.

So much depends on the individuals involved that these scenarios are beyond judgment, and we have no real right to our public figures’ personal lives. It’s disappointing, but it also can’t be easy for people living at the epicenter of the power and media circuit to manage their relationships. I met both Bill Clinton and John Edwards in Iowa during the caucuses this past winter, and like every other woman within a hundred yards, my heart went atwitter and I had to begrudgingly reminded myself that I respected their  wives too much to indulge the thoughts in my head. (For those keeping score: I didn’t turn on Hillary until the 3am ads in Texas and Ohio.)

If true, this Edwards business will be a tough one to accept. I’ve interviewed his daughter, Cate, and met Elizabeth at the BlogHer Conference in Chicago last year after she gave a speech; they are both remarkable women. I can’t imagine what it would feel like to be in such a position. All I can say is that I will flip out if something like this ever comes out about Barack Obama. I’m always inspired by him and Michelle, and it would be beyond disappointing.

I gave my mom her very own pair of Obama shoes (to match mine!) a couple weeks ago, which she wore to an event he was at in San Diego on Sunday. Naturally, I decided to rock my Power Business Chick Red Heels instead, and he wound up signing her kicks. Soooo unfair. Although, I suppose she did raise me and send me to college. We might be even now.

I had the pleasure of rocking my awesome Obama Shoes, courtesy of Polikicks, at last week’s BO fundraiser in Hollywood. They were quite a hit; even will.i.am was jealous!

The election is literally heating up to the mid-90s here in Portland, where my pal, Megan, and I have been traipsing door-to-door evangelizing on behalf of Barack Obama and reminding voters to drop off their ballots before Tuesday’s deadline.

It was surreal to think, as we were sweating profusely in Beaverton, a P-town suburb, yesterday afternoon that it had been almost six months since we were freezing for the same cause in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I can distinctly remember my Portland-based friends telling me over turkey last Thanksgiving that they didn’t think their votes were going to matter, and here they are poised with the opportunity to end this saga. Yet another example of how arbitrarily electoral power has been distributed in Campaign ‘08.

Barack and Michelle speak this afternoon at the downtown waterfront, and the city is atwitter. Almost everyone we met yesterday knew about the rally already, and it sounds like thousands of people are going to brave the temperatures to be there for the Senator.

I stayed in this morning to watch Mike Huckabee tear it up on Meet The Press (he really makes Republicans seem cuddly), and now it’s time to meet my fellow Obamamaniacs for what will hopefully be the beginning of a decisive blow to HRC’s candidacy this week.