Now that Illinois is offering a second President to the United States, it seemed fitting to spend the night watching Senator Barack Obama with the Democratic County Chair in Springfield. After last night's win youth can claim him for youth, African Americans can claim him for civil rights inspiration and Midwesterners can claim him in our own sedate way. Here the proper answer to "How are you?" is "Fine." At the Chantilly Lace bar a sign outside said, "Welcome Democrats," and in a predominantly Republican county I felt fine.
President-elect Barack Obama first declared his candidacy in 7-degree weather to a robust Springfield crowd. Then President-Elect Obama (that's enjoyable to type) came back to introduce Vice President Elect Joe Biden and the crowd was bigger still. Tim Timoney, Chairman of the Sangamon County Democratic Party, says that even then he could foresee a win.
"This whole campaign has been pretty surreal because I know Barack Obama. Barack Obama is a friend of mine. I've had beers with him in a local pub here. This is just an awesome feeling, and last February it was just because of all the excitement and exposure that he was getting as an underdog at that time, that he was first running for President of the United States. And just this past August when he came back again for a special speech to announce Joe Biden. We have a lot to be thankful for in Barack Obama."
He points out that Sangamon County is traditionally a Republican County. "The Republicans have had control of state government for over 30 years until just within the last 6 years and so Democrats have had a chance to start chipping away at the Republicans. However Springfield you could say is a corporate town because it's the seat of state government and because the Republicans were in charge for so long, most people in Sangamon County are Republicans. But with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket, we're in a position now to . . .
Just then the Chantilly bar burst into applause as Ohio slid into the blue. Less than one hour later President-elect Obama would almost run the board.
"That just gives me chills," Timoney said. "But with Barack Obama at the top of the ticket it puts the Democratic Party locally in a position we've never been in. For the last 32 years we've had one Democratic county office holder, and that's Recorder of Deeds. We have the chance tonight to pick up possibly 3 Democratic positions countywide. Turnout is just phenomenal here. My precinct that I have out on the west side of town, which is traditionally a Republican area of town, was 87 percent turnout. I mean that's unheard of. There are a lot of new voters coming out and voting and we can only speculate that those voters are coming out for Barack Obama."
Asking him about Lincoln's famous quote to the city of Springfield as he left to take office: "To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything," Timoney says, "There are a lot of parallels between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln, I don't know if that's intentional on his part to parallel, but I think that's a very fitting quote from Barack Obama just as it was for Abraham Lincoln back in 1860."
Later that same day Lincoln told a crowd:
"While some of us may differ in political opinions, still we are all united in one feeling for the Union. We all believe in the maintenance of the Union, of every star and every stripe of the glorious flag, and permit me to express the sentiment that upon the union of the States, there shall be between us no difference."
By that night, Lincoln briefly thought he lost the satchel with copies of his Inaugural Address. His humanity always shone through, and Obama's parallels last night went beyond living in the same prairie state.
The President Elect started his victory speech last night with:
""If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It's the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference. It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled - Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been a collection of Red States and Blue States: we are, and always will be, the United States of America."
Compared to an estimated million people in Grant Park, Springfield couldn't quite fit the crowd for a victory speech, but "I would imagine that Barack will be back here before inauguration," Timoney says. Obama gave the town a shout out last night with: "What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night." Timoney describes that early chilly crowd.
"In February of last year there were estimates of 17,000 people and that's when it was 7 degrees out. In August when he was here the estimate was 35,000 people. And everybody wants to get up close. I don't know how to describe the feeling of Barack Obama. With Barack Obama today in my generation is similar to what it was in the generation during Kennedy. He's an inspiration. It's hard to describe the feeling. Last week my wife and my kids sat down and we and watched his half hour commercial and he hit it out of the park. Every time he speaks it's like it can't get any better, and every time he speaks it does get better. We thought that four years ago now when he spoke at the national convention in the keynote address I remember having the same goosebumps back then. But I can relate to him a lot easier just because I know him."
And as a friend? "Barack Obama is a genuine guy. When I say he's a genuine guy, he means everything that he says. Whatever he says you can take it to the bank. The feelings that he shows, they're there. It's not just all political rhetoric. He's genuine in everything that he plans to do for this country and I think that's just exciting."
An early Republican talking point tried to peg Obama as a candidate who could best read from teleprompters and was dodging town hall meetings out of fear. The debates put that to rest, and Timoney describes his friend's early speechwriting skills.
"If you know Barack Obama, like many people around here know him, he's been like that from the beginning when he didn't have speech writers. So now that he's famous, I would lay odds that he still writes 90 percent of all his speeches. They might be edited a little bit, but he's the same Barack Obama today that he was five years ago, and even two years ago here in Springfield. I think everybody that met Barack at the State House knew that he was going somewhere - knew that he was the type of candidate that had a bright future ahead of him. He was well thought of, I really don't, other than the Republican propaganda, I really have never heard a bad word about Barack Obama from somebody that knows him."
Obama proved his ability to pen a home run speech last night with inspired prose including the following lines:
"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, and look after not only ourselves but each other. We cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. We rise or fall as one nation, as one people." In inviting Republicans to the table, he invoked Lincoln. "It was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party in the White House. It was founded on self reliance and national unity. We do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, 'we are not enemies but friends though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.'"
Those will probably not be Obama's last two Lincoln quotes as he assembles a cabinet and takes office, but he wore them well. President Bush said he's going to ensure a smooth transition, and it's nice to know he won't be hiding the toner.
After the victory speech Bruce Springsteen's "Come on Up for the Rising" played and from the Chantilly in Springfield we watched the crowd in Carl Sandburg's City of Big Shoulders take the first step toward putting our national shoulder to the wheel.
Newsweek's Howard Fineman now calls Chicago, "The Windy City on the Potomac," and as president Elect Obama walked off the stage hand in hand with Michelle I couldn't help humming, "I had the time, the time of my life. I saw a man he danced with his wife Chicago, my kind of town."