I had the incredible good fortune of being among the many volunteers who gave their time and their efforts to electing John McCain, Sarah Palin and Tom Manion over the past couple of days.  We were there, huddled around our space-aged telephones, dutifully calling voters.

I regret that the rigors of daily life prevented me from getting involved at this grassroots, shoe-leather-on-the-road level until the very end.  I did what I could here - providing an outlet for all the information I could find.  But, when push came to shove, I knew I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t get as involved as was humanly possible out there: Divorced from the keyboard and in one-on-one contact with the people.

Although the outcome was not the one we had hoped for and had worked for, I still count it among the most positive experiences I can remember.  There were no David Plouffes or Steve Schmidts in the room. No high powered party bosses chomping cigars and cracking whips.  What I found there was room after room, station after station, of every-day hard-working well-informed citizens concerned for the future of their country and dedicated to doing all they could toward electing the candidate that best represented their world view and values.

My feeble efforts over the past two days pale in comparison to those who were there from the beginning and all along the way.  Those folks were setting up strategy and laying the ground work for these last couple days long before the excitement of the campaign had reached its fevered pitch.  They were there when there was no glory and the promise of any payoff was months away.

They took scores of volunteers with 5 minutes training each and somehow turned us into a well-oiled legion of telephone canvassers.  And, through all the pressure, they did it with smiles and jokes and never became unpleasant or short tempered.  They are the heroes of this valiant effort.

I met some great people over the last couple days.  Salt of the earth people.  People who understand what America is and what America’s promise is.  Each of them was eager to lend a hand to anyone who needed one, and each of them was there with the full understanding of this election’s gravity and seriousness.

These folks turned out 150,000 votes for John McCain and Sarah Palin in Bucks County.  That’s no defeat.  Yes, the other side may have had advantages in this election that most of us will never fully understand.  But, after having sat with these people for a few days, I can guarantee you that a better or more devoted team on the ground was not an advantage the Democrats had this year. Those 150,000 votes were a triumph of their efforts and dedication.

I talked to my share of Bucks County’s Republican voters in the past two days as well.  The overwhelming majority of them were upbeat, articulate and excited about the election.  It is rare that one’s interaction with the masses will leave them impressed, but that’s the position I’m in tonight.

Over the past eight years, we’ve heard that dissent is the highest form of patriotism.  As we prepare for 2010, we’ll see how well that flies now that the shoe is on the other foot.

I invite you all to stay right here at Bucks Right as we firmly entrench ourselves as the loyal and very vocal opposition.

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