My Obama button

I started wearing my Obama button in January, before the California primary. Mostly it went on my outermost layer (i.e., rain gear), but as the weather improved it moved over to the strap of my purse. As many of you know, I've been a huge fan of the man since his senatorial run in Illinois and I wore the button without thinking about it. But people responded to it, more and more people as January turned into February, and their comments made me aware that a movement was growing. Now in Berkeley, that wasn't much of a surprise. I wasn't even the first house on my block or in my neighborhood with house signs, and I first started spying Obama bumper stickers on Berkeley autos (yes, a fair number of them hybrids or biodiesel-fueled) last fall. It didn't surprise me that my button generated interest at my favorite bakery in Oakland's Temescal district, but I was surprised by the level of positive comments it drew. And the response has been the same wherever I've been around the Bay Area -- in Palo Alto (where I saw my first Hummer) and in Los Altos, where the candidate signs on the median strips were for Clinton, Huckabee and Ron Paul, as well as Obama.

By far, the most heartening, or perhaps heartwarming, Obama conversations I've had have been with kids. The classmates of the BFF's sons at Malcolm X all either ask me if I voted for Obama, or say they're for Obama, or their parents voted for Obama. Mind you, some of these are second-graders! (You've gotta love the Berkeley public schools.) I've been having a slice at Giaoa pizzeria on Hopkins and had a little kid, maybe four years old, come up to me and ask who that man was on my button. I was surprised at how proud I was to say to him "That's Barack Obama and he's running for President." That was probably the first time I said those words aloud. At the same pizzeria, which gets flocks of kids from the neighboring King Middle School and St. Mary's College High School, the button set off a conversation between two of the high school girls. One said she was for Obama, while her friend said she was torn between Obama and McCain. Now that made me wonder if I was in Berkeley!! I joined in their conversation to explain about the party conventions in the summer, since they knew something happened between the primaries and the fall election, but they weren't sure what. (When did they make high school Civics optional?)

I'm still wearing my button 24/7 and I'm still heartened to see the cross-section of people that respond to it. I'm so grateful that these candidates have generated so much interest in our political process; especially compared to the Kerry/Edwards candidacy of '04. I still have that bumper sticker on my car and it hasn't generated one comment, positive or negative, yet.

I'm a little punchy tonight due to the second day of my full basketball immersion. Can I tell you how much I love March Madness? I'm totally pissed that you have to get cable to experience women's hoops-mania, but the way the men's games deliver keeps me glued to CBS every year. I'm a bit nervous about tomorrow's Stanford-Marquette matchup, and ambivalent about UCLA's probable coast into the Sweet Sixteen. That's due in part to my rooting on the University of San Diego Toreros (don't ask me what that is or if I've spelled it correctly.) I'm backing them because they were coached by former UCLA Bruin guard Brad Holland, and I spent many blissful nights my junior and senior years of high school watching he, David Greenwood, Roy Hamilton, and Kiki Vandeweghe tear up the floor on KTLA broadcasts. Unfortunately (unbeknownst to me) USD bought out his contract last year and hired Bill Grier, a former assistant coach at Gonzaga, to replace him. Well today, the Toreros knocked off UConn, in overtime, at the buzzer, with a class recruited and well-coached in previous years by Holland. As any sports commentator will tell you, a good team grows out of a solid foundation, and though Grier coached them to victory it came out of the core that Holland built. So props to you, Brad, and may you get another college coaching gig soon.

The BFF's oldest and I have picked our winners for the Sweet Sixteen, and though I'm committed on paper my heartstrings are not tugged equally. So along with USD and my obvious Pac-10 picks, I'll be rooting hard for Villanova, Xavier and Arkansas. Oh, and I'm hoping that Washington St. can carry some water for the Pac-10's rep in the East bracket. Check in after the weekend to see if I've changed my stripes.