Geoff and I attended the first ever Nebraska Democratic caucus on Saturday. We had a great time, aided by the fact that “caucus” is just a funny word, and lends itself to many (mostly raunchy) jokes. That aside, I thought the process was great, and I would definitely attend if one is held again in the future.

Our caucus location was the University of Nebraska-Lincoln city campus union, and as you’d expect, it was packed with students. According to the DN, 471 people caucused at the Union, and my guess is about half were students. When we showed up, there was a big line and people wandering up and down the line handing out Obama or Hillary signs. While we were waiting in big line, someone came around passing around registration sheets- if one was unregistered or not registered as a democrat, one had to fill it out and go get registered on site. After Geoff got registered (he was independent) and we got signed in with our precinct (8B), we headed to our room.

Our room was crowded, and I marveled at how few of my neighbors I know. In fact, the only people I recognized were people I work with. We sat (well, most of us stood) around for a while, and then the coordinator started. She had gone through a training process to lead the proceedings, but we were free to elect someone else to lead the meeting. We voted to have her lead, and voted someone else as secretary. Then she read us the rules, had us say the pledge of allegiance (Geoff omitted the “under god” part, I forgot the words) and then we moved to different sides of the room depending on who we intended to vote for. There was an Obama, Hillary, and undecided group. Everyone made arguments for their case. The coordinator (chair?) of the meeting did a great job of making sure most people got a chance to speak and directing the conversation. It probably helped that she is a teacher.

I enjoyed the process partly because I liked hearing why others were voting for Hillary. I think most of their points were extremely good, and though I didn’t change sides, I think they are right about what they said. The truth is, no candidate will ever match my beliefs and values exactly, and no one can do a perfect job as president (especially with the mess that’s there now.) If Hillary wins the nomination, of course I will vote for her. This sentiment was expressed many times by both sides - with the exception of an old guy who thought Hillary was “too emotional” to be president.

I was surprised by how much I thoroughly enjoyed discussing politics with a bunch of strangers. Since I am shushed when I try to talk politics with friends, it was great for me. Of course, Geoff and I talk politics, but we mostly agree, so it’s just not fun. I’d love to extend the caucus experience to include Democrats and Republicans. I know it’s idealistic, but I think people aren’t as different in their viewpoints as they think. The caucuses helped me feel a little better about the political process as a whole, which is good because I’ve become awfully cynical the last few years.

Before the caucuses, Geoff told me that he was going to support Obama, which surprised me for some reason (I think it’s just that he actually expressed an opinion this early in.) I said “I’m surprised you like Obama.” He said “Why wouldn’t I? He’s a likable guy.”

It’s nice to support a candidate that actually does seem to be nice. We’ll see where that gets me.