Precinct 250 Gives Obama 6 Delegates and Clinton 1

We walked into the school unsure what to expect. Through a hallway, a couple of steps and a corner later, we entered a relatively small auditorium that was shockingly swollen. Young and old packed tight together with a long line outside consistently feeding the frenzy. It was pure political chaos and this was the bluest vein the neighborhood. Side conversations, confusion and technical difficulties—you couldn’t ask for a more surreal and historical local moment.

The MC had some difficulty talking over the crowd, but managed to utter something to the effect that in all her decades as a local party organizer, she has never seen a crowd this large come to a caucus. This came with cheers. Without any hesitation, I got the sense that this was an Obama crowd. There were no overt gestures to suggest this; sure there were a couple of buttons and stickers, but not at ‘rally’ levels.

The day before, Obama filled the Key Arena 20,000 strong with at least 3000 turned away at the door. Upon hearing this, Barack Obama later grabbed a megaphone and made his way outside to address the huddled group of seemingly starstruck, rain soaked believers. The dedication to the average voter here is notable, and unmistakably galvanizing. I felt the importance of that moment all the way down here in Olympia especially as I casted my vote for him today. Our precinct went 6 to 1 for Obama because we felt as convicted about being in the moment as he did outside the Key Arena with a cheap megaphone talking to complete strangers who couldn’t get inside. He didn’t have to do that, and I didn’t have to vote for him, but he, like all of us, knew the collective importance in doing what it takes to affect real change; that perhaps this simple gesture was a clear shift over the conventional ethos of modern politics. Fucking unbelievable.