On Saturday morning, January 17, I started out on the drive to Washington, DC. Having never been to a Presidential Inauguration I didn't know what to expect, but like millions of other Americans I was excited about the idea that we would soon have a new President. The Bush administration was remarkable for the incredibly short list of accomplishments; it’s very anti-urban policies and its general lack of concern for the basic American citizen. The hope of a new Obama administration coming into office was a refreshing breath of fresh air and it was very exciting.
The Democratic Party of the 49th Ward made its contribution to the victory. As many recall, including the President himself, when Barack Obama was still an unknown State Senator the 49th Ward endorsed him for the United States Senate. Nobody knew what Barack Obama could accomplish at that time. Most assumed he would not even win the U.S. Senate seat. Our organization has a history of supporting progressive candidates and this was an impressive man. As we all know he went on to win, and along the way he gave "the speech" at the Democratic Convention in 2004 that made him known to millions of Americans and brought his unique approach to governing to the American political scene.
In 2007, when it became clear that he was going to go for President we signed on immediately. The formal endorsement came later, but with the exception of a person here or there nobody need a vote to see where we would officially go. On January 1, 2008 we began traveling on behalf of Barack. We went to Iowa on New Year's Day, and helped him come out of Iowa a winner by working in Delaware, Earlville and Waterloo, IA. During the primary season we also went to Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana and carried big in the 49th Ward.
During the general election we took hundreds, more than 500, volunteers to Iowa to cities and towns up and down the Mississippi to work on bringing out votes for Obama. In the last couple of weeks we were also asked to send people to Indiana and we were able to put nearly 100 more volunteer trips into northwest Indiana. Election Day went well and that evening in Grant Park was a magical event. Everyone there, everyone watching on TV and everyone around the world knew that history had been made and that change had arrived.
The trip to Washington, DC was the icing on the cake. The trip was both enormously fulfilling and incredibly frustrating. One would think that the capital would be unaccustomed to large crowds. Rally’s are what many people come to Washington, D.C. to do. Million Man March, I have a Dream and many other events of varying sizes have been held in the Mall. I understand how big the crowd was. It was truly impressive to see so many people feeling so proud of having been a small part of the historical campaign that changed American history, but I expected D.C. police and organizers to do better. Every single person from Chicago instantly recognized how well Mayor Daley manages large crowds and felt compared to comment on how much better things would be if he were in charge. I shared this belief.
The disorganization was no place more obvious than at the Inauguration itself. To get inside took a cab ride from the Virgina side to the D.C. border, a long walk to the National Mall only to find out that I was on the wrong side, followed by directions and directions and directions most of which did not match the directions from the block before. Eventually, after a long walk down the highway, I-395, which was closed, under the National Mall, another shorter walk after the highway and then the gate was in sight. The process to get in was a mess. Hundreds if not a thousand people were expected to funnel down from a very wide street into a 10 foot opening to be let into the security checkpoint area. The idea of an organized line seems to have escaped the many law enforcement agencies that operate on the capitol grounds. Once inside it was overcrowded and the crowd control was non-existent, but the entire program was a celebration of winning, of history and of a new beginning. It also was a reminder that once the day was over, the real work would begin and the effort to right what was wrong with America would begin. The speech was excellent and given the crowd and the temperature just about perfect in length.
I had the good fortune of attend numerous events; an Illinois State Senate Leadership Gala that featured Chaka Khan, the Illinois State Society Ball, which was very poorly organized and a disaster actually, and the invitation only Obama Home State Ball where Barack appeared are a few. Seeing Barack was great. I had an opportunity to speak to our next Governor as well as many other people. The events, including the Inauguration, were the highlights. Travelling around Washington, D.C. was the "low" lights. The entire subway shutting down, roads and bridges closed for miles, the constant sound of sirens blaring and stopping traffic and a million plus pedestrians made moving anywhere impossible.
In the end it was a valuable trip. Not only was it a celebration after months and months of hard work, but it was an opportunity to meet with some of our state's most important leaders. It is hard to say that it was an unqualified great time, but it was a trip well worth making. My hope is that when he wins in 2012 it will be done better.
