I have voted, have you?

My wife and I voted this morning. The doors opened at 9am. We were there early and had to make two trips around the block until I found the parking spot. We had to wait about an hour to vote, standing in a long line of voters, young and old, students and retirees, black and white, and obviously mostly Democrat... The atmosphere was cheerful and exciting. The volunteers and staff were visibly excited about the turnout and the way everything was functioning smoothly. I could not make myself jsut check straight party ticket - that would be too quick. After more than a year of watching every debate in the primaries, many hours of C-Span, hundreds of hours on the campaign blog, JREGrassroots, and here, I wanted to savour the moment, so I checked EVERY Democrat separately. Kerry and Edwards first, then Erskine Bowles, Mike Easley, David Price, Elaine Marshall, Roy Cooper, Britt Cobb, etc, etc. all the way to the end. It felt so good. I can't wait for Tuesday night. With every day, every news cycle, and every poll, I feel more and more optimistic that we will win, and win strong enough that no recounts nor lawsuits will be needed on either side. Now I have to go and get a bunch of popcorn and a case of beer for the family TV night on Tuesday!