Best of YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME

The Sapulpa Daily Herald's response:

"Members of the Afro-American community have been very vocal about the Herald’s failure to put Barack Obama’s win in the Wednesday edition after the elections."

Afro-American??

I think white and brown and red and black people were offended by the omission of the RESULTS OF THE HISTORICAL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.

Who wants to go protest? I've got shirts and signs and white skin, to show them that not just the members of the "Afro-American community" are pissed. I am, too.

Best of Questions

Where were you when you found out we made history?

I first found out that we were leaning toward good news in my car in Claremore, when I wasn't in front of a computer or television, but thank GOD Giles was twittering, and I called him as soon as I knew they called his home state of Ohio.

When the newscasters called it for Obama, I was in Arnies in Tulsa, Oklahoma, drinking a Blue Moon with Micah Strongrope. His friend grabbed us to come to the big screen, the entire bar cheered, and everyone near the bartender took a free shot. Not quite as exciting as dancing in the streets in DC, but perfect for me. I texted Grant, left in time to record the speech for us to watch when he got home, and we shared a bottle of champagne.

Oklahoma, you've been warned, you are very disappointing. Nation, thanks for representing.

Best of Results

President-Elect Obama.

Best of Voting

It's almost over, it's almost oooooover. Ban-nan-uh-nan-nan-uh! It's almost OVER! IT'S ALMOST OOOOOOOOVER!!!

I made up this song this weekend, and if you're nice, I might sing it to you. Right now, Whitters in WINDIANA is the only one who has heard it, because I want to keep her motivated and working hard for THE NEXT PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a certain Barack Obama.

I've been singing it in my head (and in my car or office if I'm alone) just to get through the days leading up to the election. And now it's down to ONE DAY.

I went to vote early on Friday morning with Grant at the Creek County Election Board, and there was a line. The doors opened at 8am, and at 9:30am, when we voted, I was number 250. Pretty damn cool. When we got back in the car, Henry had taken my seat (it is important to take your kids to the polls with you so they grow up thinking it is a normal activity - THAT IT'S JUST WHAT YOU DO), so we shared it on the way home. I told Grant that I had waited so long for that day, to get to vote, and he asked how long. FOUR YEARS, PEOPLE.

For four years, my daily life and work has directly or indirectly centered around this moment.

It's hard to work in a field where compensation does not even come close to equaling time and energy. It's hard to work in a field when you are expected to work during the regular work day, and then keep working when you can reach voters when they are at home, on nights and weekends and holidays. It's hard to work in a field that you are not supposed to talk about at the dinner table.

That last part is what drives me crazy. I work hard for something I believe in, but it is off limits for polite conversations. I'm trying to change at least my part of the world for the better, but I shouldn't talk about it. What the hell? Why is it, in America, that we can fervently support sports teams (Go Sooners!), wear shirts, paint our faces, put flags on our cars and our yards, and that is not crazy, but wearing a political shirt or having a yard sign or bumper sticker or wanting to talk to your friends, family and neighbors about something that actually affects them is?

It's not too late. Put out a yard sign. Let people know your views. You don't have to be afraid to be a Democrat anymore. Tell your family that you are voting for change. Make phone calls and tell complete strangers why they should, too. Knock on your neighbors' doors, or in a completely different part of town, and tell them to vote for Obama. Be a part of history. It's not too late.

But it's almost over.

I'm predicting an Obama win and hoping that dedication equals victory in House District 9 in Claremore USA (knock on wood, cross fingers, hope and pray). BUT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS, WE GET A NEW PRESIDENT AND GEORGE W. BUSH IS OUTTA HERE!!!

(Ban-nan-uh-nan-nan-uh!)

Best of Posters

I just visited the cutest baby for Obama tonight. He is so tiny and so sweet and so good, but I will wait to write more about that incredible experience until I can link to some pictures from Tim (hint, hint, I mean I know you aren't busy at all with a newborn).

In other Obama news, my best friend sent me really cool posters that will soon be framed. And THEN, I just found this site, and I think I will stay sane through the election countdown (TWELVE DAYS!) by putting up a different one each day on my facebook.

I wanted to post this one here.


Vote hope, not fear. Vote OBAMA.

Best of Seth, Volume Two (Political Edition)

We are 15 days from a history-changing election, for better or for worse. My brother is voting for Obama, and last night in an email I found out he is campaigning for his friends to do so as well. He is the chair of his precinct, and I can't wait for him to get to vote in his first presidential election.

I talked to mom about it today, and she told me that he told her he was voting for Obama, and then asked her who she was supporting in the Corporation Commissioner race. (SO PROUD that he even knows that race is on the ballot.) She said she was supporting Roth, and he told her he was thinking about supporting Murphy. (SO PROUD that he even knows the names of the candidates running.) She asked him why, and he said it seemed like she had more experience. (SO PROUD that he knows about her background, even though she's not up much on TV.) That doesn't seem like many 19 year olds, now does it?

But he better still fucking vote for Roth.

Best of Authors

I love authors. As I told Whitters tonight, they are my movie stars.

From Michael Chabon*, author of so many books you should read - Wonder Boys, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Yiddish Policeman's Union:

"One of the things that had served to discourage me over the course of the primary season was a general acceptance of the premise that oratory was a specious, feckless, inherently untrustworthy art. The Obama camp would rightly dispute the charge of offering only “pretty words,” but they never seemed to argue the larger truth: that ultimately words were all we had; that writing and oratory, argument and persuasion, were the root of democracy; that words can kill, or save us; something along those lines. “You can only say what you can first imagine,” as I heard Tobias Wolff (the short-story master, not the Obama campaign adviser) explain to a group of people at an Obama fund-raiser. It was a mark of Obama’s fitness to lead, to me at least, that he possessed sufficient natural reserves of imagination to kick oratorical ass." (via The Morning News)

*Holy shit, apparently he was at the convention. AND NOBODY TOLD ME. If you hear that Dave Eggers was there, just make sure I don't find out.

Best of Elsewhere

The people at The Morning News, who bring me the Tournament of Books every March, also share my political views. And probably yours, too.

"...not only do regular people not run for president, they shouldn’t run for president. Sarah Palin’s appeal apparently rests on her being just like us, but why on Earth would we want to elect someone just like us? Have you seen us?"

Best of Summing it Up

"I am angry. I am infuriated. And I don't think I would be if Sarah Palin were a qualified or competent choice as McCain's running mate. But the fact, the reality is that she is not. And instead of demanding better from their party, instead of going, wait a minute, no, we deserve better than this, many Republicans are contorting themselves into a denial of reality."

Dooce.com speaks truth to power.


Also, as a former community organizer, I have to say Palin is an idiot for calling out organizers in her speech. 1) They have a lot of "actual" responsibility, 2) They are "regular people" who are not politicians working for their communities, 3) Why, when you are trying to insult one person, would you insult a whole group of people who work on both sides of the aisle, and 4) THEY WORK ON HER OWN CAMPAIGN.

How do you spell incompetent? P-A-L-I-N

And, I say this as a woman, a proud Vagina American, I'm not voting for someone just because we share the same special parts. Especially when she opposes the rights that come with those special parts.

Best of Convention

Apparently I go to Denver and forget all about you or the fact I have a blog. That, or I am working so much that I get finished just in time to go to a late night party and probably stay out too late, only to have to get up a short 3 or 4 hours later. I'm working hard and playing hard, and I think that's the way this is supposed to be done. I LOVE Denver. It hasn't been too hot, the light rail system is great, and there are Democrats everywhere.


The absolute highlight of my trip so far was getting to be in the room when Michelle Obama gave her amazing speech. I wasn't supposed to be. I had an Arena pass, which, while better than a Perimeter pass that only gets you to the parking lot of the Pepsi Center, got me in the building. But that's all. I could stand at the door and look over heads to see the speakers, but couldn't step forward. I stood there for over an hour, watching everyone lead up on Monday night to the wonderful finale, and a volunteer, Trudy from California, felt so sorry for me, she let me in to hear Michelle. Trudy's got some good karma coming her way. I got goosebumps and felt like I was a part of history. Then I went to a Sex, Politics and Cocktails party hosted by Planned Parenthood (that someone keeps referring to as the Sex in the City party -- it wasn't) that really rocked. Great music, great food, cool swag, and an open bar. All absolutely free. Plus, Grant and I were the last ones let in before it hit capacity AND he got us VIP passes to the upstairs. Still missed Ashley Judd, so maybe I shouldn't even go home to face my dad.

I went to an EMILY's List event yesterday and before my body was run down so much that I had to leave it and throw up, I got to hear Hillary give another graceful speech and Nancy Pelosi raise hell.

I think this is my mecca.

Best of Simple Motivation

Today is Primary Day in Oklahoma (Q: Do only political nerds say "Happy Primary Day!" to fellow politicos in text messages? A: Yes.), and I am proudly displaying my participation.


I live for these stickers on Election Day, because I like the written sticky proof that I am involved in our democracy. Just another incentive to vote, because I have PROOF that I did so.

I thought about the stickers this morning, and I think more entities should use them. Maybe it's another form of the gold star system from Kindergarten, but I would like to see these stickers available to me.

From the gym: "I worked out!"
From my house: "I made my bed today!"
From my bank: "My account is not overdrawn!"
From my credit cards: "I paid my bill on time!"
From my job: "I'm a hard worker!"

I would be so much more responsible if there were stickers involved.

Best of Rain

A good friend of mine once told me that rain is good for the soul, because it washes away everything old and bad, allowing a clean start.

I must be needing a new beginning. Rain is showing up in unexpected places.

For about a year now, whenever it rains outside, it also rains in my car. I think it is getting in the back window since I have an old soft-top convertible, and it collects where the top folds down. If it rains too much, that overflows, and somehow my back floorboards get wet (but the seats and the front are fine). This is annoying, but I can live with it. I don't put my briefcase on the backseat floor (and I yell at car visitors who try to do so with theirs), I put beach towels in the back window and pull them out sopping wet, and I have gotten semi-used to the smell of mildew.

What I can't live with?

Rain in my BEDROOM. That's right. About a week and a half ago, I was still in bed with Henry while Grant was in the shower, and suddenly I was getting sprinkled. I thought Henry was peeing on me - MAN WAS HE GOING TO GET IN TROUBLE - but then I realized that he also looked confused. And the entire bed was getting wet. And so was the dresser. And so were the walls and the floor. What. The. Hell? I jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, and yelled at Grant to turn off the water. He couldn't hear me, so I tried the door... locked. I yell at him even louder TO TURN OFF THE WATER. He thinks I'm yelling at him to turn off the water so he can hear me - not because Noah could build an ark in our bedroom - so he yells back that he is still soapy, and he'll be out in a minute. I don't want to think what the down comforter would look like in a minute. I yell at my loudest (you're welcome, neighbors!) that it is raining in our room, and that a pipe must have burst. He turns off the water.

I start mopping up, with Henry at my heels, saying a few choice words. Grant dries himself off, and much to my shock, gets dressed before coming to help. In his defense, he thought there was just water on the floor, not covering everything -- including me -- in the room.

After a small hole in the wall, then a bigger hole, then covering it with a picture for my mom's visit, not showering for a few days (but baths were fine), then having a plumber come out, cutting out an even bigger hole - we found out that the soft pipe for the shower had been cut clean in half. It must have happened when the contractors put up new sheet rock before we moved in, and ever since then, when someone took a shower, the water sprayed inside the wall, eroding it away, little by little. This makes me think of the escape in the Shawshank Redemption.

Then, because the universe loves me, it succeeded in making a hole and creating a sprinkler system in my bedroom the day my mom arrives for a visit.

We had just rearranged the room, and I loved being in there, but now I'm back to hating it. My dresser is in the other bedroom. There is a big hole on my wall. When we wanted to watch TV, we put it on the ironing board until that bent the metal.



How depressing is this image? That's my bedroom, folks. I'm waiting for the clean start part.

(Also, George Bush is letting us know that the economy isn't so bad. At a 10:20am news conference, shocking scheduled at the same time as the Fed Chairman is telling Congress that the economy is pretty bad and not gonna get better anytime soon. That's even more depressing.)

Best of Surviving in Politics

It's hard being a woman (and a young woman at that) in politics. With the fight over the Democratic nomination, this topic has been debated all over the press, but they never really address the obstacles facing the women who run and work in the campaigns and political arena.

Some examples:
I once had a boss tell me I couldn't come to an office poker tournament because women don't take poker seriously. I had never played, but I threw a fit, and OUT OF SPITE, I won that game. And the one after that. They then had to tell me to quit winning because the clients and consultants didn't want to play me anymore.

I had a boss tell me, when I was asking for a well-deserved raise, that they didn't want to pay someone MY AGE that salary. Not someone with my experience, but my age. What the hell? But I got the raise.

I had a boss ask me to help schedule a meeting at the nudie bar between he and another guy to talk politics. Politely declined.

How does a woman combat it? I have a list of phrases that I have to repeat over and over to myself to remind me that I'm good enough (and smart enough and doggoneit people like me - thanks, Al) at my job, and I remember WHY I went into politics in the first place (I'm trying to change my little part of this world). Also, I cuss. A LOT. One, it is effective (in making a woman tough). Two, and maybe more importantly, I'm pretty fucking good at it.

But to my phrases:
1) Be so good they CAN'T ignore you. This one has been on a napkin in my desk drawer since I saw it on a tshirt in an airport the year I graduated. If I'm the best at what I do, if I work harder than anyone else, then it doesn't matter if I'm a woman or young. Just make yourself indispensable.

2) Fake it 'til you make it. I give this one to all my interns, and I SWEAR EVERYONE IN POLITICS FROM THE TOP DOWN FOLLOWS IT. I didn't believe it at first, but this is an art, not a science. Sure, consultants, candidates and campaign staff can work smarter and do what has worked before, but there is no fail-safe winning formula.

3) Be as loyal to your employer as they would be to you. As a generally nice person, this one was hard for me to follow at first. Surprisingly, not everyone in politics and not all politicians are in this field for the right and noble reasons. This is my version of the golden rule, and it has helped me from getting completely screwed at times.

4) Hire good people and get out of their way. I learned this tenet from a supervisor when I was 19, and it stuck with me ever since. This is more advice to bosses, but when I supervise interns or staff, I try to observe it. I'm OCD and a perfectionist, but I have learned to let go (for the most part). NOBODY LIKES TO BE MICROMANAGED.

Not that it is directly comparable, but I think that Hillary would have done better, and certainly not made as many enemies (even in her own party) if she would have done some of the above.

Maybe not the cussing part.

Here's the thing. I really do not think she can blame her performance solely on her gender. Sure, it plays some part (like racism plays a part on who will and will not vote for Obama), but so does strategy (she should have focused on some smaller states and not given up on caucus states), so does attitude (she never should have accepted that she was inevitable - everyone loves an underdog), and so does history (because of her husband*, many people, including my father, irrationally despise her). Yes, there are obstacles for all women in politics at any level. But as a woman in politics, you have to expect them and find ways to jump right over. Is it fair? No. But do it anyway, out of spite, and be so good they can't ignore you.

*I was a fan of Bill Clinton early on. My first campaign experience was campaigning for him in Kingfisher, Oklahoma (so just imagine how well that went in the buckle of the Bible belt), in my 6th grade social studies class. I made American flags with my nail polish and attached them to newly-released blue raspberry Blow Pops. They were a success, but he lost the class election. My first lesson in the ineffectiveness of chum.

Best of Presidential Candidates

OBAMA

(That's all I wanted to say)