Today I watched the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama, with 16 friends from my hometown, who assembled with less than 24 hours notice to be together for this historic occasion. We work together to make things happen in out town, and we supported his candidacy for president. Many who replied to the impromptu email invitation but could not attend were planning to take a break from work, some were planning to stop class teaching high school students or college students or watch at home with a mother or children. But nobody was planning to miss it. I got the sense of a moment in which the whole world paused to show reverence for this remarkable man, his remarkable family, on this remarkable occasion. Barack Obama is not just the most dignified and capable candidate and leader I could imagine, but he is so warm and engaging across such a wide spectrum, relevant and contemporary, and yes, fun! This is the changing face of America indeed.
The people who attended were moved to tears, inspired for our future and glad to be together with friends to celebrate. Obama will bring people together, as he inspired us to do in my living room today. These friends are the ones who make change in their neighborhoods, schools, and community in a multitude of small ways, and they were recharged to go out and do more. Thank you, Obama, for the Renewed Energy!
How did you mark the occasion? Let's share our stories!
This site is now set up to require its members to have a Wellesley alumnae listing on the college website.
Let's build our numbers to demonstrate that Wellesley alumnae are engaged in this election! We can be registered and campaigning here and in other places as well, but in grassroots campaigns, NUMBERS matter! We have a chance to be a strong and articulate voice in this campaign. Let's become a large group within the campaign and show that Wellesley alums are making a difference. Let's get to work!
GO WELLESLEY!!
Last Friday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) announced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) as his vice presidential running mate, "catching almost everyone but his inner circle by surprise." Of the very little that is known about Palin is her extreme right-wing policies on a wide range of issues. For example, shesupports teaching creationism in school, favors privatizationof health insurance, boasts of being a "lifetime member of the NRA," opposes stem-cell research, and declared that "she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to homosexual couples." On some of the most important issues of this election -- Iraq, energy, abortion -- Palin represents the extreme right wing. EXTREME ON ABORTION: One of the only policy stances widely known about Palin when her name was first announced is her extreme opposition to abortion. She once said that she would not support an abortion for her then-14 year old daughter, even if she had been raped. Palin has also declared that "explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," favoring abstinence-only programs instead. The right wing has lauded both Palin for choosing to carry her most recent child, who has Down Syndrome, to term, andher 17-year-old daughter for deciding to complete her pregnancy. Yet as the American Prospect's Ann Friedman points out, "John McCain and Sarah Palin don't believe women have a right to choose. It's absolutely absurd for the campaign to emphasize the fact that [Palin's daughter] Bristol 'made this decision,' and then push for policies that take away that choice."
For the complete article:
http://pr.thinkprogress.org/
I wrote an earlier post indicating there was at least some positive news for women in the nomination of Sarah Palin as McCain's running mate as evidence that women have shattered the political ceiling. I've since pulled that post because the more I learn about Sarah Palin, the more startled I am that even a republican "maverick" would choose a running mate with so little experience for a Vice President, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Today's New York Times (Article "Paiin disclosures Spotlight McCain 's Screening Process" pg A1 & A19) indicated that McCain had favored Senator Lieberman or Governor Ridge as late as last week, but because both men favored abortion, the "campaign was bombarded by outrage from influential conservatives who predicted an explosive floor fight at the convention and vowed rejection of Mr. Ridge or Mr. Lieberman by the delegates." How is it possible that any group, regardless of their religious views, could want a candidate with so little experience in the White House? It is a scary thought that a significant voting block thinks so narrowly, and makes me all that more committed to education and the need for critical thinking to become a national priority. And I hope it will motivate the Obama-Biden supporters to work even harder to win this election!
Check out this blog from a friend who was an Obama delegate at the convention. She stays up-to-date on the campaign developments and there is great info here to pass along:
A Posting for Women for Obama:
Check out this article on Women's enews, and sign up for their email news list.
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3633
Here is an extract of the introduction and lead-in:
After a bruising Democratic primary some Hillary Clinton supporters are mulling voting for John McCain. One of Clinton's staunchest supporters, EMILY's List, argued against that yesterday, calling a vote for the GOP candidate a vote against women.
(WOMENSENEWS)--EMILY'S List, the political action committee that churned out money and support for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton until the last gasp of the Democratic primary campaign, urged disgruntled supporters on Wednesday away from the GOP candidate.
A vote for Arizona Sen. John McCain would be "unthinkable," Ellen Malcolm, EMILY'S List president, said in conference calls with reporters yesterday to counter the McCain campaign's efforts to woo disappointed Clinton supporters. EMILY's List supports only Democratic, pro-choice female candidates. McCain has consistently voted against pro-choice and anti-discrimination legislation in the U.S. Senate.
I am posting this as a new member of the Women's group, though I've had a page on the Obama '08 site for months.
I have many talented women friends who supported Senator Clinton's campaign, and at times that has been difficult. I wanted to take a moment to thank them, along with Hillary, for the difference they made for all of us. I am proud that Senator Obama's campaign launched an effort to ask his supporters to simply thank her. Here is an extract from a thank you message I made for Hillary:
I am grateful for the difference you have made in so very many ways for women around the world. Thanks to you, my daughters will enter adulthood knowing more than ever before that America can and will have a woman president. I can already see how it is empowering them to make a difference in their world.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail." While your head may have taken a beating from those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, wait'll you feel your shoulders from the weight of all the women who will be standing on them....
Thank you.
At Kim Bottomly's Wellesley presidential inaugural, Massachusetts State Representative Alice Hanlon Peisch said to a rousing cheer, "I fully appreciate the tremendous role that Wellesley College plays in promoting women's education in Massachusetts and indeed across the globe. It is the education offered here at Wellesley that has opened the doors of opportunity and allowed women to take their place alongside their male counterparts in all arenas. And, regardless of where you personally stand on this, I believe we can all agree that it is no coincidence that the first viable woman candidate for President of the United States is a graduate of THIS institution."
Thank you, now, for your leadership in uniting the Democratic party behind Barack Obama for the sake of our future. Just as we celebrate women, this spring's Wellesley magazine's cover story underscored the opportunity to once and for all, with the help of your leadership, celebrate America's racial diversity as an asset in our democracy. May Wellesley help lead the way and pave a path for the next generation!
Congratulations, Barack Obama, our NOMINEE!! You took the high road through a hard-fought campaign, impressing me with your integrity at every obstacle in your way. You are the kind of leader our country needs and you give me hope for the future of my children and grandchildren. Now, we need to help to unify Democrats. As Wellesley alums, we know that the women who supported Hillary voiced valid concerns on behalf of women and as Obama supporters, we are confident we can work together on these issues as well as so many others.
Wellesley Alums for Obama have an opportunity to make a difference! What is our plan?
