FINALLY!!!It's 9:43 a.m.
Here's what my Election Day has looked like so far:
1. 7: 34 a.m.
Making coffee to take with me while I stand in line to vote this morning.
The Nov. 1st Economist (pictured here) endorses Obama, saying:
"It's time. This cannot be another election where the choice is based merely on fear." [1]
2. 7:52 a.m. I walked to my polling place with my neighbor, who had already voted, and her dog Chloe.
3. My precinct is tiny (only about one thousand registered voters), so there were no lines.
I was voter #91 at 8:04 a.m.
4. But lines of voters from the neighboring precinct, which is huge, curved around the block to vote in the same building, entering through a different door.
5. Expecting long lines, the city has set up port-a-potties.
6. Esther and Cherise had brought their knitting. When I took their photo at 8:13, they'd been in line since 7:15 a.m.
7. Johnny Mathis is singing "Chances Are" when I walk into Bob's for coffee.
Heidi the barista takes a cigarette break.
8. The hand-painted Obama sign across the street from Bob's.Bob's-regular Catherine tells me she's so tired of political ads she can't wait "to turn on the TV and see ads for Viagra and Metamucil again!"
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[1] The Economist endorsement of Obama continues:
"In terms of painting a brighter future for American and the world, Mr Obama has produced the more compelling and detailed portrait. He has campaigned with more style, intelligence and discipline than his opponent. Whether he can fulfill his immense potential remains to be seen. But Mr Obama deserves the presidency."
