Dispatch From The District Of Columbia

From the Atlantic's Joshua Green:

I made a point of arriving early at my Washington, D.C., polling precinct
this morning, at 7:45, expecting parking problems and lines around the
block. Parking wasn't hard and there was only a bit of commotion. But as I
got closer it became clear that the commotion wasn't Obamamania--it was
mainly moms and dads dropping their kids off at the elementary school across
the street. Lesson: don't believe the rapturous crowds you see on TV are
everywhere. Inside, the place was barren. The number of voters I counted
(12) barely outnumbered the precinct workers. The whole thing seemed oddly
anticlimactic. (But as a DC voter I'm accustomed to that.) I'd assumed that
yuppie Northwest DC would be a hotbed of furious liberal civic-mindedness,
but some reporting (actually, walking down the hall to talk to this guy
revealed that Ward 3, where I live, is one of only two white-majority precincts, and therefore considered Hillary territory, insofar as such a thing exists in DC. That'd explain the robo-calls. Not sure what it bodes, if anything, for the candidates.

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Comments

Also, don't be fooled by one experience. I voted on Super Tuesday and waltzed right into the booth in a ward Obama had to win huge in order to carry the state. As I left, I wondered if it was slipping away for him, but at the end of the day, he carried Ct., and did so by a larger margin then anyone around here thought. We'll see at after the polls close.

Posted by NHCt | February 12, 2008 1:31 PM

He expects the polls to be hopping at 7:45 am? What universe does he live in? Even in a general election you aren't going to have lines that early.

Posted by Anonymous | February 12, 2008 1:34 PM

I have been working the "breakfast line" at an elementary school in NW DC--the Home and School Association sells muffins and coffee to voters to raise money to support the school. The crowd was constant and steady through 10am, when I left, and pretty light when I returned at lunch time. I remember voting in 1992 and seeing the line go out the door--I was surprised that it wasn't that big this year.

I still think that NW DC will go for Obama; their demographics certainly lean that way (highly educated). And in volunteer land, it is certainly not Hillary country either; one lonely volunteer for Clinton who was not there all the time. The Obama people were there with lots of literature and enthusiasm.

I could be wrong--but I don't see how Clinton will poll very well anywhere in DC.

Posted by sarah | February 12, 2008 1:41 PM

Duh, furiously civic-minded liberals dont vote that early in the morning...

OK, I dont, anyhow :-)

Posted by nimh | February 12, 2008 3:57 PM

The students voted today at John Eaton Elementary School (in NW DC). If the votes reflect their parents, it will be a good night for Obama!

McCain 5
Hukabee 10
Clinton 69
Obama 233

Posted by suparducci | February 12, 2008 5:58 PM