Feb. 8, 2008 at 6:31pm

Girlfriend gets political goosebumps

(and finds a cause to support)

I am, at best, politically ambivalent.

I know the causes and platforms that make me warm and fuzzy, I know parties I generally support, and I know the politicians that make me sick to my stomach, but ask me about caucuses, primaries, issues, specific policies of candidates, and you'll generally see me smile and nod awkwardly like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming Hummer.

So today, that changed.

My mother in law of sorts (her son is my domestic partner of twelve years-- hence, I am "Girlfriend" in Tacoma, not Wife in same city) asked me if I had an interest to go see HIllary at the UPS Fieldhouse.  As she lives relatively nearby, and I suspected it would make for an interesting slice of historic "I was there" pie, I said, sure, whatev, I'll go with you.

We got there and I was gobsmacked.   The crowd went down the block, around the block, and around the next street.  I saw friends Pat and Abby of King's Books, stopped and chat, and saw Jenymama... I thought there was no way we'd make it into the building, and had we gone in with Jen, I suspected  we'd be lynched by an angry mob.  And I was cold, so the MIL and I decided to make our way home.  Already, I thought, I would take away an energetic, lively spirit that hope was alive in this city.  I could go home with the feeling that political change was something that could potentially take place, for real.  I was taking heart, I was feeling more hopeful than I had in two elections.  

And then a miracle happened. As I was snapping shots the building engulfed the line, and MIL and I made it into the building at the very end of it.  I saw Nath, my friend from many contexts, and asked the goon at the door if I could just say hi to my friend.  He said, sure, and Nath said, follow the girl in the black sweatshirt.  I almost said, oh, no, I couldn't, (and did say, I'm sorry, I have my mother in law here) and he said, grab her, follow ___.  I did, and we did.  And I got treated to cold pimpin' fabulous seats pretty much front and center-ish, right behind the stage.  

That's when I began to bask in the glow of political energy. I began to take in the packed crowd of diverse (though predominantly white) faces, the signs, the volume.  The hope.  It was like a concert, where the excitement about what's to come sort of takes you out of your body, you just sort of ride the wave of adrenaline.

When Hillary Clinton came out, I realized, she's small.  She has a teeny waist balanced out by big coif and distinctly feminine hips. Her voice is strong, exactly as it sounds on TV.  What comes out of that mouth are topics that are articulate, intelligent, and real, in a tangible way.  The whole experience was real.  It was a sort of intimate connection-- as much as you can get with a herd of 5000-- that makes you realize the talking heads belong to actual bodies.  It was intense.

More than that, I was swept away by the ideas she presented.  Mostly, as this was a healthcare summit, she talked at great length on healthcare and how she plans to reform it, making insurance companies less strong, making it an individual's right to have equal access to quality healthcare.  She spoke on a number of different topics-- the war in Iraq, Veterans Rights, Education, the Environment, and a number of topics connected to these topics.  And as her speech flowed, I realized-- holy cowcrap, batman-- this woman *gets* it.  

She wasn't just on her pulpit blowing bubbles of grandiose ideas, ideals, and aspirations and letting them float out there-- she had a comprehensive plan, solid ideas, and a global view that made me break out in goosebumps.  It sounded to me like, for the first time in many years, we could have a candidate who might take the campaign promises, combine them with the knowhow gained through years in the white house and on the senate, and turn them into an *actual* *progressive* *administration.*  Add to that, she has a spouse who could be a huge asset to her in his knowhow of matters politic and diplomatic.

As we waited in the cold, hanging out with the last fifty or so stragglers for a chance at a final peek, I felt my toes gradually lose consciousness.  My fingers nearly went in the same direction.  My throat and voice, already raspy and worked from viral onslaught, were going to hell in a handbasket, quickly.  And yet I needed one final glance, to see that for-real woman who might be our next president, our first woman president, who might help our country work toward gaining the respect of a world community, who might just be as progressive with programs, reforms, and progress as FDR (who also, you will recall, had a strong spouse).

A dude and his iPod running by stopped and said, what's the motorcade all about?  We said, Hillary was here. For real? He asked. Yup, we said, and explained it was a speech, that she talked about her plans and programs.

Oh yeah? asked dude, Like what?  We said, healthcare, Iraq, education.  Cynically, he asked what the plans were, testing us to come up with any thing beyond the campaign rhetoric soundbite.  We recapped, with condensed blurbs of  remembered information. 

He digested a second, and kind of looked impressed.

Cool, he said, and waited there with us for that one final chance at a glance.

In his shorts.

(My shots are on flickr, and I'll have some video posted to the feed, soon!!)