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will see the world differently.

We have all lived through a defining event in American history. This country was founded on language so eloquent it remains an inspiration to the world. Yet even as Thomas Jefferson was setting his thoughts on independence and human rights to paper, our country was stained with the sin of slavery.

On Tuesday we elected a President of African descent and said, collectively, officially and for the first time, that race is not a disqualifier from holding our highest office. We have finally showed we are willing to move on from our 400-year-old conflict, and get to the hard work of living up to those words written over two centuries ago. We have a long way to go, but Tuesday signaled we are ready to go there. Now there is just the work to be done.

Where were you when it happened?

I wanted to be home with my family. I wanted to have my children experience the overwhelming excitement and emotion I felt when the victory became likely, then highly probable, and then official. I wanted to sit on the couch with my wife and take it all in. Just as we watched so many primaries and whether in victory or defeat, we found ourselves surprised at how inspired and touched we were by this amazing person. I wanted to check election results on my home computer where I invariably found myself after every primary, whether in victory or defeat, giving more money to Barack so that he could make it to today.

But I wasn’t at home. I spent the election in San Francisco, at a work convention.

I have to tell you that I am incredibly lucky. When I go to Dreamforce I drop into an amazing community of leaders who are showing the world how we can make the better place. I get to meet so many new folks and hear about the great work they’re doing to address the challenges we all face. I get to connect with good friends I’ve made over the years through this work.

When we all headed over to the breathtaking Starlight Room at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel, the election was already in the bag. The TV was on as the middle of the country rolled in, cementing the win for Obama. And then at 8 PM the west coast came in and the networks called it.

The room erupted in a prolonged cheer, and you could hear the relief, disbelief, and unadulterated happiness all wound up in it. Everyone in the room realized that we were witnessing a moment that would live in American history for a long time. And we got to witness it together.

The Salesforce.com Foundation hosted us at the Drake, and it was a lovely party. The Foundation has been a core driver to the work I do. Without them I would be hacking php at home. But with their support I get to put the world’s best CRM platform in the hands of nonprofits who couldn’t otherwise afford it, and couldn’t otherwise use it. They are making a large impact in the world. Seriously large.

That night, I was honored and humbled to be presented with the Salesforce.com Foundation’s first annual Community Hero award and an incredible gift of $10,000. I was humbled that these amazing folks–Steve Wright, Meghan Nesbitt, Tucker MacLean, Bryan Breckenridge, Chris Atwood, Suzanne DiBianca and so many others–recognized me for work that for me is just plain fun! Thanks so much to you all–we couldn’t do it without you.

After the party was over we headed down to the street and found Powell Street lined with Obama supporters. Everyone was cheering and dancing. Cars were honking their horns, with passengers leaning out windows waving Obama signs. We stopped and watched, joining in the improptu celebration. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay and share the moment with San Franciscans.

Then about 30 men in colorful sweatshirts marched up Powell and formed a semi-circle in the crowd next to us. They began to sing acapella songs about freedom, equality, and Obama. We all listened as they waved their rainbow flag and sang beautifully. These men were celebrating Obama, but they had a lot more on the line in this election than I did. Californians were at that moment voting to strip gays of the right to marry. At the time the result was not known, but everyone was very worried that prop 8 would pass, which it did in the wee hours of the night.

The chorus then broke into our national anthem. We all sang along, and I could tell that many in the crowd were singing our anthem with conviction for the first time in a long time.

I sang, too, and was moved by what my country did that day. I didn’t think we could do it, and we did. I have mouthed the words to the national anthem countless times, but I realized last night that I thought I lived in a different country than I do. None of the vast injustices we’ve perpetrated over the years were made right that night. But we took a step in the right direction. The electon showed me I was wrong about who we are and what we can accomplish. We can move in the direction of love and respect, and we might see that out of this presidency.

So that’s how I spent this historic election night. I was away from my family, but with a community I care deeply about, with many very good friends. I’ll never forget that night. I’ll never forget the hope and joy in our uplifted voices. Thanks to all my friends who were there. Congrats to all who worked for Obama and this hard-fought victory!

h/t shemuses!

Love it!
Update: Apparently you can only see this here. Thanks Luke!

I’m about to head to Dreamforce, Salesforce’s annual user conference. Last year it was 5,000 people. This year could be as many as 10,000. It’s a big conference with tons of logistics.

But check out what the Obama campaign pulled off yesterday. They had an event in St. Louis with at least 100,000 people. And then followed it up with a 75,000 person rally in Kansas City.

These rallies require amazing logistics around parking, security, crowd control, secret service for Obama, PA, lighting, media, the list goes on and on. Check out this great post from Al Giordano about what it takes to do a 20,000 person rally.

And then realize that the Obama campaign did this twice in one day. Whatever you think about Obama’s policies, the man has pulled together an army for this campaign. On every level he’s out-organizing John McCain. That’s not a subjective feeling–it’s a clear fact. No doubt about it. Very impressive.

As I filled out my ballot today, I paused with the feeling that I was doing something I wanted to remember for the rest of my life. I voted for our first African-American President. Sure, it’s not over until Nov. 4th, but I’m confident he’s going to win, and I got to vote for him.

Even if you’re not going to vote for him, I hope the import of this moment for America hits you. It’s a vote 400 years in the making. It’s a vote we got to be a part of.

I want to tell you a bit about my parents. Bill and Beth live in Wisconsin, in the house where I grew up. They live in a pretty conservative world–Wisconsin is the birthplace of the Republican party, they know some real John Birchers, and until his retirement last year my dad was a CEO of a manufacturing company. Not the most liberal environment.

John McCain will lose this election because people like my parents are not supporting him. But it’s not just that they aren’t supporting John McCain, they are full-on Obama volunteers. And so are their neighbors and friends.

The school teacher across the street had never given to a political candidate until she donated to Obama this year. The neighbors behind them are taking up a collection to buy a $1200 full-page ad in the local paper. The ad will list the names of Democrats, Independents and Republicans in the neighborhood who are supporting Obama. My parents rang 50 doorbells in the neighborhood. They’ve never done that before.

And today my dad wrote this letter to the editor of the Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel, the local paper. I couldn’t be more proud of my dad for writing this great letter:

My wife Beth and I have lived in Wauwatosa for 35 years. We have voted for Republicans and Democrats during our time in Wisconsin.

Over the last 10 to 15 years we have seen the Washington political machine become more and more directed by special interest groups. During the last 8 years of George Bush’s Presidency, we have seen the “worst” of what our government can do for its people, and for the image we have with our allies overseas.

We have been lied to and deceived time and time again by this administration. The administration is corrupt and self serving, and it must changed to an Obama/Biden administration. Biden and Obama can be trusted. It won’t be easy to change Washington politics, but they will start to make the change that’s absolutely necessary for our future and our children’s future.

I’m a retired CEO, and am not faced with many of the tough issues facing our next generation (like job security, health care coverage, and the list goes on)

As a CEO however, I’ve seen the unbridled greed on Wall Street, and in the Board Rooms across the country. It’s incredible to me that we, as a people, have allowed these travesties to go on and on, until they have reached the size and scope that will now take years to correct.

I support Barack Obama 100% and hope for a landslide victory for the Obama Biden ticket in November. Hopefully that would send a message to Washington that the days of special interests, and lying politicians, are coming to an end.

Bill Andersen
Retired CEO Bradley Corp.

The Republicans have lost the middle of this country because of their incompetence and malfeasance. Folks like my parents won’t be looking to vote for Republicans any time soon, and I don’t think they are alone.

From the awesome folks at 538:

When local field organizer Christian Lund took the stage just prior to Joe Biden’s appearance on Tuesday night in Marietta, he asked those in the attendant crowd of about 4,000 to look at the sheets in their hands. Each sheet held four names, and each name had a phone number and a bar code for later data scanning. Lund asked the people in the crowd to make four phone calls to this targeted group, and then he demonstrated.

Lund got voicemail. Over the microphone, he left a message informing his phonee about where and when to early vote, as well as where and when the Obama volunteer office was located in town and what it’s hours were. After he was finished, it was the crowd’s turn. “We even got extra cell tower juice just for tonight” Lund told the crowd, so go ahead and make four quick calls on Barack Obama’s behalf. They did.

It’s 2008. Everyone has a cell phone. Any event can turn into a mass phone bank if you want it to. You just have to think ahead…

Here’s a really clever ad that is trying to push older voters to Obama. I love ads that parody ad formats that have wedged their way into our brains over the course of years and years of watching TV.