>The one part of the Obama phenomenon that has always disturbed me (though the cause is in fact 'historic' ) he is always referred to as 'Black' rather than the more accurate 'bi-racial' and this itself is the legacy of Jim Crow - the 'one-drop' rule. His personal story is even more compelling if seen in it's true context and makes his role as a 'bridge' and a 'uniter' more believable. I guess because of my own life experiences and the makeup of my own family I am more focused on issues of culture and don't really see race as a meaningful distinction. And I see younger Americans looking at the world more that way - where skin color is closer to eye color on the scale of things that are important and people gravitating to each other based on cultural commonality. Obama represents that beautifully and I look forward to that example being a bridge to the future. Also, interestingly, this flies in the face of the kind of identity politics that have become the mainstay of the Democratic base and I hope it leads to his guiding his party in a better direction.

I'm just finding the time to get back here after a totally crazy month. I spent last weekend and election day (and a day a week for several months) working with the local Obama campaign.

During the day on Tuesday, Marshal and I knocked on doors to remind people to vote. Our visits were pretty much unnecessary. While most people weren't home, at virtually every door that was answered, people had been out to vote already. The neighborhood we were assigned is upper middle class and mostly black (with a scattering of older Jews)--rather than being annoyed by the intrusion, people thanked us for coming.

As I celebrated at our staging location after the polls closed on Tuesday, I looked around the room and saw young and old, men and women, black, white, Asian and Latino, straight and gay, rich and poor, and felt prouder than I ever had to be an American. Being part of this team has been an incredible experience.

Tamar