Last night, I was in the Situation Room! Well, sort of. I was in Hart Auditorium here on the Georgetown Law campus, but Wolf Blitzer declared that we were all in the Situation Room, implying, for all intents and purposes, that the Situation Room is wherever Blitzer happens to be at the time. I attended a symposium called "Decision 2008: November 4th and Beyond," which was moderated by Blitzer. So cool! The panelists were E.J. Dionne (Washington Post columnist, Georgetown Public Policy Institute professor), Charles Krauthammer (Pulitzer Prize winner, conservative syndicated columnist), Celinda Lake (pollster, Democratic political strategist), Clarence Page (Chicago Tribune syndicated columnist), and Byron York (National Review White House correspondent). It was a pretty interesting panel discussion, because of the diversity of opinions on issues such as whether McCain still has a chance, whether the Bradley effect exists, the effect of Sarah Palin, how negative campaigning affects credibility, and the ways in which the economy has impacted campaign messages. This is one of those events that reminds me of the awesome opportunities I have by being in D.C., and specifically by being at Georgetown Law.
Unfortunately, the symposium was scheduled at the same time as my small group Bible study, which crushed our attendance (i.e., no one came). Mike and I waited for fifteen minutes, and then decided to attend the symposium ourselves. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, right? Hopefully we'll have better attendance next week when we aren't competing with a popular head anchor of a major news network.
It's crazy to think that this election is finally coming to a close. I can remember when I first took notice of then-Senate-hopeful Obama during his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, and got goosebumps from his vision for a unified America. I remember when I first considered Obama as a viable presidential candidate, upon reading a Time magazine cover story in 2006 on why he could be the next president. I wondered to myself whether the United States would even be willing to elect an African-American as president, yet I found within myself a burgeoning hope that America had reached that point. I have followed Obama's campaign for nearly 22 months with ever-increasing attentiveness since he declared his candidacy in February of 2007. I fell in love with Obama's rhetoric and charisma when I attended a huge rally for him in Oakland with Cindy on St. Patrick's Day last year, delighting in green t-shirts supporting "O'Bama." I have watched the debates, I have followed the controversies, I have read dozens upon dozens of articles about the campaign. Quite frankly, Obama has been an integral part of my fascination with politics for years, and I wonder how things will be on November 5. Hold onto your seats, folks.
I received in the mail today my District of Columbia Voter's Guide, which was exciting. I absolutely adore the graphic that the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics put on the front cover of the guide:
It is so delightfully saccharine. "You complete us." I love it.
