Ten days ago, the coalition in which we were working on VRA reauthorization was staring at long odds in getting the Voting Rights Act through the Senate. There was the matter of going through the Judiciary Committee, which had several senators who might offer amendments to the Voting Rights Act. Then, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist had not confirmed he could get the bill heard on the Senate floor by the August recess.

And other senators who were hostile to the Voting Rights Act might have amendments of their own. There was talk about a possible voter ID requirement, English language requirements for voters and other amendments that the House had considered and rejected in mid-July.

But another variable hung heavy in the humid July air: the NAACP was holding its annual convention last week. In Washington. And Bush was scheduled to speak there, his first appearance before the NAACP since his 2000 presidential campaign.

I can't confirm it, but this makes me think the White House called off the various senators who were considering amendments or wanted to slow down the VRA. And with the media full of stories about the Israeli/Hezbollah conflict in the Middle East, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, stem cells, deficits and so on, it seemed the last thing the White House wanted, going into election season, was additional damage to repair with the African-American, Latino and Asian voters the political parties are trying to attract.

Our first sign that something had changed came on July 19 when the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved S 2703, its version of the VRA reauthorization, in a room packed full of coalition members, NAACP delegates, and Rev. Jesse Jackson. It was surreal when Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-AL, said he favored the bill, only a week or so after a hearing where he'd raised all kinds of questions about whether an extension of the Voting Rights Act was necessary.  

Only one amendment was offered -- from Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, and it was rejected by voice vote, after which he withdrew his other two amendments. One would have reduced the reauthorization period from 25 years to seven; the other would have changed the definition the Census Bureau used to determine English language proficiency from "very well" to "well."

After the vote, I spoke with Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-UT, Arlen Specter, R-PA, and Patrick Leahy, D-VT, who were all pleased by the result. But I told each of them, "Now, you get this through the Senate and on to the White House, and I'll really be happy." All three assured me it would be done.    

I didn't have to wait long -- about 25 hours, in fact -- before their words became fact. As the Senate concluded its 98-0 vote that sent the VRA reauthorization to the White House, I was waiting with coalition partners in the Senate Reception Room, just off the Senate floor, to congratulate the senators who had worked with us for months and years on the reauthorization. Sen. Leahy eventually emerged from the chamber to a round of applause and words of thanks from our coalition. When he got to me, I had one thing to say to him: "Thank you for making me eat my words from yesterday."

This morning, the South Lawn of the White House looked like a Who's Who of the civil rights movement. There was Dorothy Height of the National Council of Negro Women, members of the families of Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King, and Julian Bond of the NAACP. Some of the other people I saw there: Marc Morial. Willie Brown. Current D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams and former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. Donna Brazile. Charles Matthias. Joe Rogers. Jesse Jackson. Al Sharpton. Karl Rove (from very far away). Don King. (Yes, THAT Don King. I asked him, "Brother King, is it true what you say, 'Only in America'?" He said: "Yes. Only in America.")

There were at least four Common Cause members there besides myself: Board members Margaret Fung, Spencer Overton and Julie Fernandes, and my colleague Kirk Clay, who's working on a campaign to institute direct election of the president.

The signing ceremony was short and to the point, and it was nice to be there, of course. But what's much more meaningful to me than today's ceremony is the hard work of our members and state and national offices in getting this through Congress.

Your calls, visits, petition signatures, e-mails and other efforts helped create the groundswell of support across the spectrum of religious, public interest, organized labor, religious and civil rights groups that helped get us where we are today. Together, we have produced a huge win in the effort to protect voting rights for American citizens.

There is much left to be done if we are to improve the quality of our elections, reform campaigns and reduce the influence of special interests. And though Bush pledged to enforce the Voting Rights Act and defend it in court, we must make sure the Justice Department doesn't ignore this crucial law, or weaken it by allowing political appointees in the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department to overrule career employees, as Hans von Spakovsky did on the Georgia voter ID law that Common Cause Georgia and other groups successfully struck down in court.  

Meanwhile, we can celebrate this big win on the Voting Rights Act and use it as a catalyst for future election reforms -- as well as to revitalize citizen involvement in our government -- and to "secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity."

Only in America, Don. Only in America.