Something to be proud of

It lasted less than two hours. But the memory may stay with me forever. Tuesday was Caucus Night in Minnesota -- our state's turn at the political Wheel Of Fortune. If the experience I had at Arlington High School is any indication, we should be very proud of our state today.

My wife was busy when I arrived at Arlington. She was helping to register people for our tiny little precinct.

But I knew ahead of time she would be busy because the line of cars to get in the place made one think you were going to a Hannah Montana concert. After parking in a way Mr. Dragicevich, my driver's ed instructor, would not have approved of, I barreled my way upstairs. The line was long and getting longer. I cast my ballot and then did the only husbandly thing I could think of -- grabbed the envelope where people were voting and started accepting ballots.

There were people of all shapes, sizes, nationalities and ages. One woman who was a diabetic wanted to vote so badly she started asking neighbors for candy bars to keep her going until she could get to the front of the line. Another guy had one eye covered with a bandage and another barely open because of a recent car accident. When he got his chance, he needed help finding the line of the candidate he wanted but he completed his mission.

There was a young woman who had dragged her mother there and patiently waited while the older lady made up her mind. "I haven't done this for a long time," she explained. "I want to get it right." And so it went for 90 minutes.

We ran out of ballots near the end and people starting writing their choices' name down on blank sheets of paper. We told them to write first and last names as a precaution and kept one ballot out so they could get it right. "Is this legal?" one guy asked me. "I don't know," I replied. "We're in unchartered waters here and it's the only thing we could think of." Turned out it was okay.

The people were patient and wanted to take part. They stayed in line and talked. Many of them discovered neighbors they had never met. Several stayed to hear the caucus proposals and were surprised to learn they could be delegates at the city convention that comes up in March. "I thought everything was pre-selected," said one older woman. "You mean I can go to this thing and someone will listen to me?" She was beaming at the thought.

As I watched the line and watched people vote, I suspected Obama would win our precinct easily. It just looked like his kind of crowd and so it was. But it was fascinating to see such little bitterness and so many people who were so anxious to have their voice heard.

Later that night, on the local news and after talking to several friends, this scenario was playing everywhere. Everybody battled long lines but everybody got a chance to voice their opinion.

It was slightly disorganized and badly understaffed.(In other words, a vintage Democratic Party performance.) My wife and the woman who helped her deserve special praise for keeping calm amid the chaos. But it was worth the time and effort to see democracy in action.