Election 2008: So it begins.

I was late for class this morning, but my excuse is pretty good: I was in the Gadsden county polling place, filling in a bubble for Barack Obama.

I arrived an hour after it opened, and there was no line to speak of. It took a bit of time to find my name on the list, but I wasn’t nervous—voting on the first day meant that I had plenty of time to solve any issues.

As it turned out, my name was found. But the wait gave me a chance to hear the conversations of the voters around me.

One older white man, a country-looking guy in overalls, was also waiting for his name to be found in the rolls. He boomed cheerfully, “Take as long as you want—I know who I’m voting for!”

I sighed inside.

Then he continued, “And it ain’t John McCain!”

FYI, Republican leaders: When you fail to get the white Florida cracker vote, your campaign’s doomed.

After class, I met up with Obama supporters at the Westcott fountain, and we marched downtown to the courthouse.

Most of the participants in Seminole Students for Obama were there, and we passed out signs to the other Florida State students who showed up.

Here is a photo of us headed east from campus to downtown Tallahassee.

As we walked, cars honked at our signs, and drivers waved. We hollered and danced in return.

It was a gorgeous day on which to begin Obama’s landslide victory.

The line at the Leon County Courthouse was, not surprisingly, much longer than that for Gadsden county. Having already voted, I watched the pile of signs and banners while my friends stood in line. The wait was only about half an hour.

Everyone was friendly and patient. It looked like a pretty Obama-centric crowd, too.

Many of my friends were voting for the first time. It’s probably not hard to imagine their elation.

FAMU also had a larger march, from their campus to the courthouse. FSU will have two more marches: one sponsored by College Democrats, and the other joined by university President T.K. Wetherell.

Go Obama!

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