I am a 55 year old woman who lives in Greenville, SC. Coming of age in the South in the late 60's was not designed to give anyone a broad, liberal outlook on life, but even as a young girl of 16, I realized what Robert Kenedy was saying, how he was campaigning to make life better for a whole lot of people who had it a lot worse than I did. I remember laying in bed with my trusty transistor radio, listening to the news that he had died, and I realized how much we - and I - had lost.
I initially started this campaign out by signing up on all three websites - Clinton, Obama and Edwards. Even though I had seen the magnificent speech by Barack Obama at the 2004 convention, I was still leaning towards Hillary by the time all three candidates rolled into SC the weeks before the January primary. Unfortunately for Hillary, Bill Clinton showed himself so badly in this state that we began to have flashbacks to the chaos of the Clinton administration. I began to visit Obama's website, reading his stance on the issues and learning what an inspiring leader he was. That was it, I switched the week before the Jan. 26 primary and my 23 year old daughter and I went to the poll together and voted for Obama.
I have not felt this level of excitement for a candidate since the death of Robert Kennedy. I feel that here is a man who does have empathy with people from all walks of life, who will be able to work with Congress to make things better for all of us. I agree with anewspapers and individuals who have endorsed Obama when they say that it is not the stance on the issues so much as it is Obama's ability to lead, his ability to inspire us to want to make the sacrifice to change things in this country. That edge just might be the difference between an adequate president and an outstanding one.
I am so glad Obama won the SC primary. In this state you can never be completely sure of what will happen!
Obama has the ability to draw all ages and races together. That choice was always there, but Obama has solidified it into solid support by people from all ages and walks of life and this southern girl could not be happier! He is showing all of us that YES WE CAN!
