KANSAS CITY, MO - Last Saturday, September 27th, a group of less than ten women met to discuss the Presidential campaign and the looming Vice-Presidential debate. Lead by Tiffini Reed, this group met and organized their meeting though the BarackObama.com website. Without a definitive purpose yet established, their initial goal was simple: just get the ball rolling. Little did they know how quickly things would gain steam.
The group met briefly again on Monday to discuss the logistics of hosting a debate watch party. Dawn Miller was also enlisted to design a group logo and the group decided that they would invite people to watch the debates at the Waldo Pizza located at 7433 Broadway in Kansas City. A short three days later, Tiffini and Company were stunned at the public response.
Initially hoping for around 20 people, the ladies and Waldo Pizza staff were sent scrambling to find additional tables and chairs for the more than 80 men, women and children who attended. People began flowing in at 7:00pm CST, followed by a camera crew from the local Fox affiliate, KSHB 41.
A slight ruckus began to erupt pre-debate when CNN's Wolf Blitzer introduced the now infamous debate meter. As patrons gradually convinced Waldo Pizza staff to switch all of the TVs to CSPAN, two gentlemen with ukuleles lead the group in a few choruses of "This Land Is Our Land". With the sing-along serving to quiet the crowd, everybody was in place for the beginning of the debates.
The announcement that Joe Biden had won the coin toss was met with cheers and a yell of "Hit her hard, Joe!" As soon as the debate began, though virtually everybody within earshot of the debate became attentively silent. That silence was short-lived, however.
The first question leveled at the candidates was regarding the economic bail-out of Wall Street. Governor Palin's answer, the first in a long line of references to soccer Moms, was immediately met with laughter and jeers. The rest of the debate continued with a similar ebb and flow of cheers for Biden and jeers at Palain. At one point, photographer Darren Abate exclaimed "McCain needs a Palinoscopy!" He then explained: "Palinocopy: (n) The act of removing a source of incompetence/ineptitude from any given scenario."
Once the debate was underway, the Women for Obama had a moment to catch their breath and reflect on the success of the evening. Ronda Law described her goal for the group going forward as "making sure that people know that there are women supporting Barack Obama and Joe Biden." Betti Kalahurka, one of the "new members" from the Monday night meeting, said that her goal was "to get out the vote - period." However, it was Beverly Sheldon who probably summed it up best by describing the desire to raise the political discourse to a non-polarizing discussion of "respect, integrity, and experience".
Tiffini Reed and the Women for Obama plan to launch their website, www.politicsandwomenkc.com, within the next few days. After the huge turn-out, including selling-out of the shirts bearing their logo, it is surely just the beginning for this grass-roots organization.