DERRY | Jean and Richard Botteron both were glued to the television set in Betsy Burtis' home last night, listening to Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for president.
Jean Botteron said she has been watching the Democratic National Convention all week. She said she hasn't been this excited about a presidential election since the days of young John F. Kennedy.
Her husband is interested, too, but his vote won't match his wife's. He's casting his ballot for Republican Sen. John McCain, the man he thinks has the experience necessary to serve as president.
"I think he knows the ramifications of the words the president speaks," Richard Botteron said,
Although the Londonderry couple support different candidates, Richard Botteron said he doesn't think his wife is making a poor choice.
"I'm not voting for the lesser of two evils," he said. "They're both good candidates."
There was room for diversity in the Burtis living room, but most of the dozen or so people gathered to watch Obama's speech were there because they support the Democratic nominee.
"I am 45 and I have never felt truly inspired by a candidate until now," said Burtis, who has volunteered for the Obama campaign for the past two months.
Working on the campaign is a first for Burtis.
"It has been an incredible year," she said. "Twenty-five years ago, who would have thought a woman and an African-American would be the two main candidates for the Democratic nomination?"¬ù
Her time making phone calls and going door to door for Obama's campaign has made Burtis appreciate the value of political participation.
" Each one of us can participate in the process," she said. "It's an amazing thing that shouldn't be taken for granted."
Jean Botteron isn't taking anything for granted. She said she supports Obama because of his positions on the Iraq war and health care. And she sees similarities between Obama and a former Democratic president.
"He reminds me of a young Kennedy," she said.
Seventeen-year-old Ally Priest is way too young to remember President Kennedy, but not too young to have caught the Kennedy mystique - and she's drawn to Obama for the same reasons.
"I'm obsessed with the Kennedys," Priest said. "And I saw a parallel with (Obama) and Kennedy."
While Jean and Richard Botteron don't seem to have any trouble splitting their household votes, Jean Botteron said she thought it was important for Democrats to come together during the convention - and move forward.
She thought Hillary Clinton's speech Wednesday night went a long way toward bringing the party together.
"I was hoping this week would heal some of those wounds, and I think it has," she said.
