tins ::: Rick Klau's weblog

We had a great time last night at our fundraiser for Barack Obama. Don’t have a full head count, but I think there were between 75 and 85 people there, including several local candidates (Christine, Guy, Hiram, Rob, Doug, and Joe).

We had some terrific volunteers helping as well, who passed out the food, helped with parking, sign-in, etc. In all, it was a wonderful event. Thanks again to everyone who helped, and in particular to Joslyn Kirkegaard, who worked tirelessly to get a number of her friends and colleagues to come.

And here’s the requisite photo of my wife Robin, me, and the man in our foyer:

As I said in my intro for Barack, when Robin and I moved here from California, our friends teased us mercilessly. They’d call in January. “How’s the weather?” Or in the spring, they’d call from their campsite at Yosemite. “How are the mountains in Illinois?” they’d ask.

My response always had something to do with the cost of living. “How’s your shoebox?” is typically a good come-back.

But that’s changed. Now they are jealous of us. They can’t vote for Barack Obama. We can. (That said, I firmly believe that the rest of the country will get a chance to vote for him the future.) Watching him interact with people, seeing their reaction to him (we had members of both political parties as well as a number of independents at the house), and listening to his honest passion — the man is special. We’re lucky to have him in Illinois. He will do well for us in the Senate. But I am certain that the U.S. Senate is not the last stop for him.