I learned a long time ago that the really big events in politics and elections and their consequences are unpredictable almost until the time they occur. I was a kid when JFK was elected, and supported him in the campaign, but I had no idea his Presidency would lead to the liberating revolutions of the 1960s, and a human being on the Moon by the end of the decade. I thought Reagan was a joke when he was governor of California, and thought he would lose to Carter, and even when he won, I didn't think his Presidency would have much impact. When Bush was first reported as winning Florida in 2000, I was aggravated to say the least, and when Gore was on top by the end of the night I was thrilled - I had no idea that the US Supreme Court would make Bush President in the end.
I first became aware of Barack Obama when I saw him speak, on television, at the 2004 Democratic Convention in Boston. My son, covering the convention and the speech for The Harvard Crimson, saw that speech in person. My whole family thought Obama was great. I don't think a single one of us thought he really had a chance at the White House in 2008.
I endorsed Obama in my blog last December. I later said I thought he'd win the popular vote by 10% and the Electoral College handily. I of course had no real knowledge - those predictions were an instinct, a hope, a dream of setting America and the world on a better course.
And now it all comes down to tomorrow. The polls say Obama is ahead. But the only poll that counts, as everyone knows, is what happens at the actual polls.
I'm pulling for a fulfillment of what couldn't have been predicted even five years ago.
We've had a lot bad surprises in the past decades. America and humanity are due to have a good one.
As Obama just said in his closing speech in Manassas, Virginia, broadcast on CSPAN: Fired Up! Ready to Go!
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