I attended my precinct caucus last night, though unlike the vast majority of folks there, I wasn’t a first-timer. In fact, I attended my first caucus as soon as I was eligible to vote, a few decades ago. Two years ago there were maybe ten of us at our precinct’s caucus. Last night there were 114 eligible voters from my precinct who came out on a cold, icy night to be counted. And even though we showed up in record numbers, the volunteers who ran the night were calm and collected and the mood in the room was one of patience and enthusiasm. I saw many familiar faces: folks I know only as neighbors, those I know from my kids’ schools, and even a fellow dreamworker. I sat next to a neighbor I hadn’t met before, and we had the chance to introduce ourselves while waiting for everything to begin. I love that sense of community wherever I find it, and I certainly found it last night.

Our precinct fell right in line with Colorado’s results as a whole: 2 to 1 for Obama over Clinton. One man stood up and said that Obama is the most exciting candidate our party has put forward in 40 years, and that he hasn’t been this enthusiastic about a candidate since JFK. I Some spoke eloquently for Clinton, too, and the overall mood I heard was that it’s a shame these two candidates are running in the same year, and that if they weren’t running against each other, either would be a great choice. At the end of the night, though, my precinct leader said, “Either way, we’re in for a change.”

The biggest change I see so far is in the level of enthusiasm in the Democratic Party. It’s as though we were hit by a tornado in the last decade and weren’t sure how to regroup. But now, we’re galvanized. And despite the media’s attempts to sort us out into demographic groups (men for Clinton! whites for Obama!) I think most people are choosing based on the candidate’s platform and how we think s/he will do against the Republican candidate.

I volunteered to be a delegate at the County Convention, and while I really wanted to go, I agreed to be an alternate just so we could keep the process moving last night. When my neighbor saw that I had the party platform survey already filled out and ready to turn in, he said, “You’re the kind of delegate we want. An over-achiever.” Yes, I admit it. I did my homework. So I was pleased to learn that I can attend the County Convention as an alternate, though unless I’m sitting in for a delegate, I can’t vote. But I had so much fun at my precinct caucus, I’m looking forward to the next step.

Two things tipped the scales for me on which candidate to support last night. One was Bill Clinton’s attack on Obama. While I think our country prospered under Bill Clinton’s presidency, I do wish he’d held himself to a higher moral ground. The other thing that swayed me firmly into Obama’s camp was his speech at Dr. King’s church: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0x_TpDris

Whichever way your political leanings take you, I urge you to participate in the process. We have the potential to really change the things we don’t like about how our country is moving. Let’s move in the direction of hope instead of fear.