The demographics of our zip code show us to be overwhelmingly white, and relative to the rest of Rockland County, more educated and prosperous, yet we are not monolithic in our views. We appear to represent a continuum of political affiliation, being more conservative the closer we live to the firehouse and more progressive the closer we live to the river.

This description of us can only hint at the exhilaration, the trepidation and even anguish of indecision that some of our citizens felt as Election Day neared. Each of the almost 1,400 Palisadians who voted has a story to tell and several of them are related here.

Kristen and Kurt Bridges are a politically mixed couple. Kurt supported Obama early on, finding him exciting and inspirational and a credible way forward in chaotic times. Kristen on the other hand felt she was unable to get clear information about the candidates and their positions. She invited the BBC World Service US08 Election bus tour to come to their home in Palisades to offer her an impartial view. (Their visit was featured in the October 18, 2008 edition of the Rockland Journal News and can be accessed on the 10964 website.)

In a follow-up interview with 10964, Kristen explained that she was torn because she admires John McCain for his experience and service to the country and Sarah Palin for her seeming ease in balancing work and family. She was also looking for a unifier and a game changer and that drew her to Obama. It turned out that the BBC visit did not help after all and she ‘went with her heart’ in the voting booth, pulling the lever for McCain.

My husband Eric and I also have a politically mixed marriage. I so strongly supported Obama that I joined his grassroots volunteers via internet, much to my own surprise and pleasure.

Eric is a registered Republican even though he lives not so far from the river. Because four generations of his family were naval officers, he felt a strong affinity for McCain and his military service. However, the possibility of Sarah Palin being Commander-in-Chief caused him to rethink this position, and in the end, he broke with tradition and cast his vote for Obama.

I followed shortly. There was a steady stream of excited voters at the Palisades Presbyterian Church. I myself was voter number 156 and even briefly stood in a line. It was reassuring to see my name on the roles. Citizens were chatting animatedly all around me. Few people would say for whom they had voted, but many dropped excited hints and others grimly declared that they had voted for their man and hoped he would win. Francis Pellegrini arrived with a look of excited determination followed by two young women who had just come of age to vote.

The Englanders felt honored to vote in this election. Many others agreed with this sentiment, adding that it had been a long haul in more ways than one.

Kristen Bridges admitted that even though she didn’t vote for him, she is excited by Obama’s electoral victory. She is surprised and delighted by the intensity of the celebrations of his victory around the world and here at home. He turns out to be the unifier she was looking for and she intends to throw her full support behind him.