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Super Tuesday: West Coast Polls Close in 1 Hour

21:43 H | Topics: California - San Francisco - US Presidential Race 2008

First of all, if you're here on the West Coast and haven't voted yet, you have about an hour to get yourself to your polling place and vote. I just did that myself in San Francisco's Chinatown, and the view from street here was (at least visually) a high turnout and a pretty seamless experience. Where as I normally arrive at the polls to an empty polling place, for the first time in years I had to wait in line. And luckily my fears about irregularities were assuaged. I got in and out and was able to vote not only for a Democratic candidate, but also for the hippie measures that we always vote on here in our beloved San Francisco. I had to laugh and even feel moved when I read the following municipal proposition: Do you want to make it City policy that San Francisco look in to obtaining Alcatraz Island from the federal government to create a Peace Center? I voted yes, of course.

And then there's the big one. I didn't vote in the primaries in 2004, and I must say that when I voted for John Kerry 4 years ago in the elections I did it with vigor. I was confident that our 4 torturous years of the Bush machine were about to come to an end. Sadly, we all know how that one turned out. Kerry just didn't have the pizazz. He was a weak candidate, and lacked the ability to drum up any excitement.

That isn't the case this time around. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton -- in very different ways -- have personality to spare. And that's not all they have. In the possibility of one of them leading this country, there is hope. Hope that this war will end. Hope that years of assault on our freedoms will end. But perhaps most importantly, hope is inherent in the fact that either of them have come this far. After all we've been through as a country, one can't help but be heartened by the fact that we aren't just choosing between two white men with more of the same, but between a man of color and a woman. We're used to the idea now, but just writing it leaves me with a smile on my face.

This wasn't an easy choice for me. I thought it would be but it wasn't. I had already made up my mind as of yesterday, then I switched. Both candidates -- although they seemed like clones in their last debate -- have different stances on issues that are important to me. If you dig a bit below the surface, then piece it all together, you'll likely see that Obama and Clinton are quite different.

Who did I vote for? I never kiss and tell (but if you ask nicely enough I might tell you). Meanwhile, if you are so inclined to share such personal information, let us know in the comments section. Why is your candidate best? Tell us all about it.

Images taken in San Francisco's Latino enclave, the Mission District, by my friend photographer Joe Pennant

Related

• Obama Shells Out Major Dough for the Latino Vote (Wednesday, Jul 30 2008)
• Al Gore Endorses Obama (Monday, Jun 16 2008)