Politics, mostly

I think the hardest thing about being a step-parent is being reminded at times that you're an add-on member of the family. 99% of the time things are great, everybody gets along beautifully, then the kids get home after 4 days with dad and I'm a stranger again for a few hours. It passes, usually within the space of an evening, but for awhile I don't belong in my own home. It's a weird feeling.

In other news, the political landscape looks great for next week. The polls are all out there to be perused at will, but if things go the way they are now next Tuesday will be a happy day in American history. It's kind of funny to once again be in the spotlight of the entire nation...in 2006 CD-7 was the #1 race to watch in the country and we won that one, under intense national curiosity. This year Colorado is one of the states being watched carefully, since we may flip from our 2004 voting errors. The sign at Forward Colorado reads "To win the White House, we have to win the West. To win the West, we have to win Colorado. To win Colorado, we have to win Jefferson County." Sure there are lots of other races to watch and lots of other places where things need to fall in line, but my beautiful state definitely matters. (They mentioned on the news Saturday that we had all 4 candidates in the state campaigning in the space of 7 days.)

Of course Colorado has preferences. The Obama event in Denver Sunday had an estimated turnout of 100,000, then he went straight to Fort Collins, where 50,000 more waited for him (this in a city with a population of 130,000-ish). A McCain appearance a few days earlier had a whopping 4000 people show up. Palin's visit to the Springs (Home of the Fighting Fearmongers) whipped 11,000 into a frenzy. So if the rallies are any indication, Obama will win here in a landslide, just like the rest of the country. Of course all that matters is the final vote total. I finally got out last Sunday to canvass a bit and Steph's going to phone bank w/ me next Sunday. It's not as much as 2006 certainly, but then I have a somewhat hectic life now. I can't wait to see what happens Tuesday!