No, the other Kokomo

One of the neat things about living in Indiana has been the excitement building around the presidential primary. Now, I’m not one to get super-excited about presidential politics, but it’s hard not to get wrapped up in it at least a bit. I mean, when was the last time there was a big story about Kokomo, Indiana on the front page of the New York Times? (That’s where Adam was born).

Despite the commotion about this being the first time Indiana’s had a say in the presidential nominating process since Bobby Kennedy came through in 1968, I was still having trouble getting motivated to go volunteer. I had decided that I preferred Obama to Clinton, but apparently not enough to go out and knock on doors for him, again despite the fact that I basically knock on doors professionally. I have a couple friends in town who were serious Obama volunteers, but they had been unsuccessful in getting me to join them. I was being lazy, yes, but I also wasn’t yet revved up enough.

The argument that finally pushed me over the edge came from Abby Levine, a fellow political organizing Midwestern implant (Columbus, Ohio by way of San Francisco and Washington, DC). I have the pleasure of staying with Abby and her husband Matt when I travel to Columbus for work. Abby’s argument was thus: “The way I see it, if Obama can win Indiana, this whole ordeal will all be over sooner.”

That did it for me. My annoyance with the length of the nominating process (and the enormous amount of money that was being spent on it) had been getting in the way of my enjoyment of the game. The way I saw it, through Abby’s helpful lens, was that if I, Victoria Kaplan, knocked on doors for Obama, he would win Elkhart County, and therefore the entire state of Indiana, and seal the deal to end the nomination contest. I signed up to canvass with my super-Obama friend Ben Beyeler that Saturday and planned to take Election Day off as well.

Well as it turns out my grandfather—Papa—died Friday (in his sleep, it was peaceful), and I was going to be in Connecticut for the funeral on Election Day. So not only would I not be able to volunteer that day, but I would have to vote early. I realized this upon arriving for my volunteer shift Saturday at Obama’s Elkhart office. Ben sent me to the local early voting place to cast my vote before joining him on our canvassing turf. I expected to be there within 30 minutes.

Nearly two hours later I cast my first real ballot (all others in my life had been absentee). (On a side note, I did get a bit of goose-bumpy feeling when I actually saw the choices right there on the ballot: a black person, and a woman). Then I ended up getting lost on my way to meet Ben. I never did find him, but I did find a couple of garage sales where I was able to snag a chair for our living room, a printer table for my office, and a couple of nice glass spice jars.

So, I’m embarrassed to say, I never did knock on doors for Obama. Shame on me.

Driving home from Papa’s funeral on election night, we tuned in to NPR to listen to the election returns. It was pure excitement. Indiana matters! People care about Indiana! Neal Conan was asking people in Indiana—specifically Indiana—to call in and share what it had been like at the polls that day. I made Adam dial NPR repeatedly as I drove, wanting desperately to get through even though I hadn’t been at the polls that day and I hadn’t even volunteered for a campaign. When he got tired of doing that, I pulled over so we could switch drivers and I took up the position at the redial button. I never did get through, but we Adam new at least one of the people who did get on the air.

Though Clinton won Indiana, Elkhart County went for Obama by 18 points. Woah!

I swear, I’ll be out there knocking on doors for the general.