I don't usually do two posts in one day, but if I don't post now, I'll forget.

I finally decided at about 5:45 who I was going to vote for. I was up in the air between Barak Obama and Ron Paul, and since they're in different parties, I had to decide which location to go to. My deciding factors were that I was already registered as a Democrat, and I'd never been to a Democratic caucus before. I went to a Republican one in 1996 when I was 17, because it was all new and exciting (no Democratic caucus that year, since Clinton ran unopposed, so really no decision there).

One thing about Republicans, is that they sure do caucus more efficiently. If the guy had just had a megaphone or something, it would have helped immensely. But we started out with everyone checking in, registering for the party if necessary, and getting a numbered card. Then there were some statements read: give us money, there's statements by various local Democrats running for office in the back, yadda yadda yadda. We took about 10 minutes to decide that 44 people was the 15% threshold for viability. Then each campaign had two minutes for a statement. Then things got really loud and incomprehensible.

All voters went to the area of the room designated for their first choice candidate. There was a preliminary count (since we were the biggest group in the room, we filed in and out of the room to get a more accurate count. Probably not very legal, but the high school cafeteria was so HOT, we had to open the doors). Then the preliminary count was announced (Obama 115, Edwards, 49, Clinton 47, Biden 30, and the rest were in the teens and single digits), and people got a chance to go around and try and convince others to join their groups. This went on for about half an hour to forty-five minutes, and every once in a while, there would be cheers and clapping as people joined other groups. Finally, a final total was tallied to the three viable candidates: Obama 144, Edwards 53, and Clinton 51. So Obama got two delegates from my precinct and the other two got one. Which pretty much reflects what happened in the rest of the state: Caucus Results.

Then there were some elections for committees and delegates and we were done. This all lasted from 6:30 to 8:45. HOT. Frankly, I'm just glad the phone calls will stop. I've done my civic duty, now leave me alone. In all seriousness, though, I'm honored to be part of the first in the nation, and I hope we did our best for the rest of the country.