I am extremely happy. Happier that you can know. Hopefully what has happened here in South Carolina will continue on through the nation. I am also surprised and encouraged by the margin of victory Barack Obama experienced over Hillary Clinton. I was discussing all of this with my wife, who is basically a Hillary supporter, and what I was really trying to express to her is how, above all else, Obama is a candidate of hope and change. He represents the hope that we have that politics can change and be for the people instead of about the power and the money.
I also hope that the rest of the campaign can be a bit less muddy than the road that led up to this evening’s win. Please, no mud-slinging, no back stabbing, and no harmful attacks. Harmful more to the optimism and unity of this entire nation than to the individual being attacked.
As I said before, I was worried about the turnout. Voting this morning took less that 5 minutes. Out of the car at 10:41 and then back in the car by 10:46. Yes, that is right – five minutes to walk from the car, into the school, check in at the registration, vote, and get back in the car. But in the end the turn out was great. By my calculations roughly 525,000 people turned out for the today’s primary. That number compares to about 432,000 for last weeks Republican primary. In a state that is solidly “red,” to have nearly a hundred thousand more people turn out is really saying something. It really goes to show how motivated both Democrats in general and Obama supporters really are.
And finally check out this powerful endorsement letter for Obama from Carolina Kennedy in the New York Times.
So, from Charleston, South Carolina, thank you. And here is to a great future!
