Washington D.C.

October 22, 2008

Christopher Anderson walks among the tourists.

I am in Washington D.C. because I was previously obligated to be here to edit a story that I’m currently working on at National Geographic magazine. Seemed to me to be a good opportunity to take a look at the end of what (according to the experts and polls) could be the end of a Republican Era in the Nation’s Capitol.

There isn’t really much news to cover now; Congress is not in session, most of the politicians have gone elsewhere. The city kinda feels a little empty. I have been here many times for work, but I have never had the time to visit the monuments. So, on Sunday afternoon when I arrived, I went for a stroll down past the White House to the Washington Monument and on to the Lincoln Memorial and the moving Vietnam Memorial.

As I walk among the other tourists, I can't help thinking full-circle-ish, cliché thoughts standing in front of the massive statue of Lincoln (the President who ended slavery), where M.L.K. made his famous “I Have a Dream” speech and how the kid getting her picture made in front of him will not be able to imagine a world when an Obama could not even dream of running for president – much like how I could not imagine a world where a Barack Obama could not even vote.