The funny thing is that I don't even BELIEVE in bumper stickers

Stick a fork in me 'cuz I am DONE. I got my mail-in ballot; I cast my vote. And, already, I've been asked by one person why... why, as my bumper sticker professes, am I encouraging the country to vote Obama. The answer is so overwhelming and obvious to me, that the question took me aback. My husband would have said, "The question should take you aback because that shit's PERSONAL." But I suppose it quit being personal when I decided to advertise my views with a bumper sticker, right? And, besides, I WANT to share the answer if it makes even one person take a step back and evaluate. The problem is that my BEST answer is hard to summarize into... well... a bumper sticker.

This is as succinct as I can get about my vote:

• It was a vote for the absolute BEST and the BRIGHTEST and a vote against the anti-intellectualism popularized by our current president.
• It was a vote for our YOUTH and the FUTURE and a vote against OLD and OUTDATED ideas from the past.
• It was a vote for a FRESH perspective and a vote against FAILED policies.
• It was a vote for HOPE and CHANGE and a vote against MORE OF THE SAME.
• It was a vote for trickling UP and a vote against trickling DOWN.
• It was a vote for DEMOCRACY and a vote against PLUTOCRACY.
• It was a vote for TRUTH and TRANSPARENCY and a vote against LIES and CORRUPTION.
• It was a vote for WOMEN and EQUALITY and a vote against FAUX feminism.
• It was a vote for coming TOGETHER and a vote against DIVISIVENESS.
• It was a vote for calm DISCIPLINE and a vote against distracting ERRATICISM.
• It was a vote for ONE car, ONE spouse and ONE house and a vote against THIRTEEN cars, SEVEN houses and the replacement of one dedicated, disabled spouse by a younger, wealthier, healthier more photo-friendly one.
• It was a vote for someone BETTER than me and a vote against someone "JUST LIKE ME."
• It was a vote for GRACE and RESPECT and a vote against eye twirling, sneering, tongue jutting and condescension.
• It was a vote for polar bears and a vote against POLARIZATION.
• It was a vote for SCIENCE and EDUCATION and a vote against willful IGNORANCE.
• It was a vote for keeping church and state as SEPARATE as our forefathers intended and a vote against ANYTHING to the contrary.
• It was a vote for restoring civil liberties and the Constitution and a vote against the party that decimated them both.
• It was a vote for the ELITIST media and a vote against the CENSORED media.
• It was a vote for health care, family leave, and reproductive rights and a vote against anti-choice, anti-options, and a narrow world view.
• It was a vote for sticking to the issues and a vote against distraction tactics.
  
• It was a vote for Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hispanics, Blacks, Whites, Asians, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, women, homosexuals, heterosexuals and a vote against that HOMOGENEOUS pale male jubilee that was the Republican National Convention.
• It was a vote for the middle class and a vote against the Reagan-Thatcher economics that has brought us where we are today.
• It was a vote for community organizers everywhere and a vote against anyone impudent enough to denigrate them.
• And, as cheesy as it sounds, my vote was a vote for love and optimism and a vote against fear and hatred.

To Colorado: I beg you, vote NOW. Our ballot is HUMONGOUS. It took me an hour to fill out sitting at my kitchen table without interruption. You don't want to wait in line for five hours on election day. Please go to your County Clerk's office and request a mail-in ballot. Or go there and do the early vote! TWO WEEKS AND COUNTING! GO!

To Senator Obama: My thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family.