This weekend, I had lunch at Panera Bread on Park Lane on the edge of Lake Highlands. It was crowded, so I asked two twenty somethings working on laptops if I could sit at their table. Turns out they were working on the Obama for President campaign, preparing for a rally here in Dallas on Wednesday.
I’m probably not their standard demographic target – I’m a middle aged white woman from a very conservative neighborhood – but I found their youthful enthusiasm to be contagious. They were excited and hopeful and dedicated. They seemed intelligent and capable and sincere. They weren’t trying to sell me – we just chatted over a sandwich – but it felt really good to be exposed to their optimism about the future of our country.
For the next two weeks, all eyes will be on Texas and on our choice at the polls on Tuesday, March 4. We’ll be exposed to television commercials, political rallies, and an influx of candidates and press. Fundraisers will draw famous faces from all over the country to our midst (at the table next to us at Panera was Senator Dick Lugar, a Republican from Indiana who co-sponsored some legislation with Senator Obama). Regardless of your political leanings, it’s a pretty exciting time to be in Dallas.
