In a weekend well-attended by women but largely led by men–nearly all the speakers at all the rallies were male politicians and talking heads–this was a rare moment of female camaraderie. It felt like they were on the edge of something big. “We should have a women’s party!” someone proposed.

I was about to leave, but Judith Weiss from New York City–who had been proudly pointed out as a Jew, which was as close as the group came to diversity–flagged me down. “Can I tell you what I like about Obama?” she asked. “I think the fact that there’s a normal black family in the White House. … If he could make being nerdy fashionable among black kids, he will have done a good thing.” The women nodded in agreement. No racists here!