In an election season of inspiring moments, it's been an amazing week in Ohio. Last Saturday, I witnessed an overflow crowd welcome Ohio's next U.S. Senator,
Sherrod Brown, and, in turn, leave with the determination to see that we as Ohioans turn not only this state around, but also help turn this country around. This Saturday, I witnessed an even larger crowd fill an even larger room to the rafters to hear from Ohio's next governor,
Ted Strickland, and the rest of Ohio's top Democratic candidates. To join together to recognize the impact we could all have this November. To pay tribute to the importance of women within the Democratic Party. Oh, and to hear from
another special guest. Did I mention Bill Clinton was speaking?
Before I get to that, however, I must set the scene. The event, held at the InterContinental Hotel in Cleveland, was sponsored by the
Ohio Democratic Women's Caucus. I knew the luncheon was going to be special when my girlfriend Casey and I arrived outside of the ballroom. Hundreds of Democrats had already begun gathering outside of the closed doors, fully an hour before the event was to start. People of all ages. All races. All backgrounds. Men and women gathering together to show support for one of the strongest statewide Democratic tickets in Ohio history. To stand with Strickland and his running-mate for lieutenant governor, Lee Fisher, as well as the rest of Ohio's campaigning Democrats. To work together to see that each and every one of those candidates takes office after election day. Once the doors opened, it was apparent that the massive room was going to be far too small for everyone in attendance. And that was a
great realization. In fact, when all was said and done, I'd venture to guess that Saturday's crowd could - numbering approximately 1,000 - have easily filled a room three times as large as the one at the InterContinental. But a day of inspiring moments was only beginning.
After we filled ourselves with the variety of deviously tasty food offerings, everyone took his or her seats - or spot on the floor or along the wall - to kick things off. The mistress of ceremonies was our voice in Congress,
Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones, who worked everyone into a frenzy with an impassioned speech. "We need," she said, "to deliver a knockout punch in November." We then heard a series of heartfelt, emotional speeches by Ohio's Democratic candidates, including Ohio Surpreme Court candidate - and fellow Ohio University alumnus -
William O'Neill, candidate for treasurer
Richard Cordray, candidate for auditor
Barbara Sykes, candidate for attorney general
Marc Dann and candidate for secretary of state
Jennifer Brunner. Then, Brown stepped to the podium to help introduce Fisher who, in turn, brought Strickland up to an amazing ovation. And trust me, his speech fit the welcome. After he had reminded everyone in attendance why he's the only man for the governor's job this fall, Strickland joined everyone in welcoming Clinton, whose entrance was unlike anything I'd seen.
My describing the scene as the former president took the stage couldn't even begin to do it justice. Picture a room filled with probably two or three times as many people as it should have been exploding with unparalleled fervor. Sure, once he was at the podium, Bill Clinton
tried to get started. But the standing ovation continued for several minutes. I'd be lying, too, if I told you that the chants of "Four more years!" didn't cause me to reconsider, at least for a moment, the 22nd Amendment. I'll just put my initial response to seeing Clinton in person for the first time like this:
It was good to see someone who actually knew how to do the job and do it well. Once we settled down, it was time for Clinton to deliver one of his trademark extemporaneous speeches that no doubt inspired everyone in attendance to not only vote, but to actively ensure, as Fisher so aptly put it earlier, a "political earthquake that (would change) America." A speech that shifted effortlessly from remembering the lessons of Ann Richards to
the failures of the current administration to the coming election and, most importantly, to Strickland's place in that vote. Not only his place, but ours, too.
"The purpose of politics," Clinton said as he recounted his visit Saturday morning to help escort Richards's flag-draped casket into the Texas state Capitol, "is to give people the tools to live their dreams." And Clinton was confident, he said, that Strickland and Fisher would help restore Ohioans' faith in their government. That they were the people to give the state's citizens those tools, the tools the corrupt Republicans running this state have so long denied the people. Speaking to the crowd about the importance of
this election, Clinton then reflected on the lessons of the 2000 vote, when, as he said, "We got to take what worked right for granted." Too many people swallowed the lies. Too many people thought the Republican Party could do something well that they've failed at for so long:
Governing. Now, nearly six years after that vote, the time has come again for Republicans to try to fool the electorate. To again discover terror as our most pressing issue, despite the fact, as Clinton said, that we still have seven times as many troops in Iraq as we do in Afghanistan. To again attempt to strike fear into the hearts of voters, as though the only thing that could keep us safe is depriving detainees of their rights. But this time, it's not Americans that are afraid. It's the Republicans, because the Republicans, as Clinton said, are "afraid voters know what they're doing." And he's right.
"The only way the other side can win," he continued, "is if they can stop us from thinking." In so few words, Clinton encapsulated the entire Republican strategy. And it was our jobs, he said, to not let that happen. To "not just be enthusiastic," as we no doubt were Saturday, "but be determined." Determined to help return
hope and
optimism to politics. Determined to use
our power to
take power. Determined to not let this moment, this opportunity, pass us by. "We have to set an example," Clinton said. Not only just by telling voters what we're so rightly against, but also by reminding them why casting a vote for the Democratic Party means casting a vote for a better, brighter tomorrow. And that a vote for Ohio's Democratic ticket is similarly a vote to restore Ohioans' faith in their government
and to restore our government's faith in Ohioans. Said Clinton before leaving the stage to an even more raucous response, "This is
not a frivolous moment." No truer words had been spoken about the coming election.
What inspired me most about Saturday's event wasn't necessarily the inspiring words of the former president. Or even those equally inspiring comments from the other candidates. No, what inspired me most was the determination I saw in the faces of the other guests, folks willing to sit ten people deep and stand lining the walls when the seats quickly filled up. The resolve to turn Ohio around. The realization that we are the ones we've been waiting for, that our government wouldn't work for us unless we worked to put those in office who possessed the desire to serve the people, not themselves. A common refrain Saturday throughout the remarks delivered by Ohio Democratic Women's Caucus representatives and other speakers was "When women vote, Democrats win. When Democrats win, women win." That, while no doubt true, is only part of the puzzle. Because when Democrats win, not only do women win, but there's also a greater outcome:
We all win. And to answer Strickland's question from earlier in the day - "Are you ready for a change?" - I can only reply as I know so many other Ohioans (and Americans) can.
Yes. 
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