I am one of the few political nerds who did not spend Wednesday night glued to C-SPAN watching the pageantry of this year's Democratic National Convention. No, I was one of the lucky ones -- squished up against a wall off the main floor of Boston's Fleet Center, gazing at boxes of colorful signs reading "Edwards" being passed over my head.
At that moment, two thoughts crossed my mind: How did I get lucky enough to be here, and will I have enough room to talk about the intense flurry of volunteers passing out signs that correspond with the speakers in my story?
The answer to the second question is no -- much to the relief of my editor. But there were a lot of those stories last week. That probably wasn't obvious if you caught portions of the convention on television -- just a bunch of long-winded speeches, confirmation that John Kerry will be the Democrat's nominee for president and 100,000 balloons dropping from the ceiling, right?
But no amount of cameras could have caught the incredible energy around Boston. About a quarter million of John Kerry's supporters flocked to Massachusetts hoping to hear the next president explain how the nation will be run for the next four years. Each day, delegates were treated to conversations with a who's who of American liberals, from early morning to well past 11 every night. Not surprisingly, the hordes of Democrats received nearly every speech with wild enthusiam.
And who can blame them? Liberal icons they have watched for years were asking them to support Kerry's quest for the White House. I've always tried to remain impartial when covering stories, and while I did my best to keep a stoic face while scribbling notes, it was hard not to get star-struck when I saw Madeline Albright standing 3 feet away from me. It was equally difficult to stop my jaw from dropping as I watched Gov. Janet Napolitano dancing to rock music on the convention floor amidst a shower of confetti, or stop myself from laughing out loud when I opened my press bag to find a box of special-edition Democratic Convention 2004 Kraft macaroni and cheese.
And that's not even half the story. In less than a month, a similarly obscene number of balloons will fall on another excited crowd in New York City. But these people will be supporting President George W. Bush's plan for America -- and those Republicans will feel just as strongly about their candidate as the Democrats feel about John Kerry.
In the coming months, members of both parties will use the enthusiasm from their conventions to come after one thing -- you. No matter how fired up Kerry's or Bush's fans are, the presidential election will be decided by every single American who decides their country is important enough to mark off a name on a ballot.
Alas, stories of sign distribution will go untold in this newspaper. But there will be other reports -- tales of two men vying for one job and why Democrats and Republicans want you to support their candidate during those crucial seconds you'll spend casting your vote.
No matter how boring you find politics, every one of those stories will deal with you. This election will decide who will shape the future that our generation is set to inherit.
And if that little tidbit isn't enough to motivate you to go to the polls in November, feel free to borrow some of the rampant enthusiasm I felt in Boston last week. At this point, I've got plenty to spare.
Amanda Keim is a journalism and political science junior who wants you to keep your hands off her mac and cheese. Reach her at amanda.keim@asu.edu.
