Barack Obama and Tony West. Photo by Mona Brooks.
On Feb. 5, we will be called to engage in one of the few activities we do together, as one nation: We will go to the polls. And we will make a choice. For me, that choice is Sen. Barack Obama.
My reasons for supporting Barack stem from both my personal history and my sense of history. Barack's message of hope - of our individual and collective ability to see beyond the appearances of our world as it is and embrace the vision of what it can be - has deep resonance with me. My parents grew up in the segregated, deep South. They came to California just before I was born, seeking opportunity that eluded them back home. My father, the first in his family to achieve a college education, and my mother, the eldest daughter of Methodist pastor, had neither relatives nor much money when they arrived here. But what they did have they gave to me, their only son: Love, an education, faith and hope.
I’ve reflected on how those gifts transformed my life, particularly as I’ve thought about how Barack’s extraordinary campaign has transformed this country. Barack’s journey is so inspiring because it is, in many ways, so ordinary: Raised by a single mother after his father left the family when Barack was only two; struggled with issues of identity and place before finding his way and excelling at Columbia University and Harvard Law School; passed up high-paying job offers after law school to organize working people on the south side of Chicago who’d lost their jobs; and served his nation, first in the Illinois statehouse and then the U.S. Senate, as a voice for change and justice.
When Barack recounts his remarkable journey, he is telling a story of hope that many, regardless of race, class, gender or religion can identify with. It is a uniquely American story, one which reminds us of what we already know: That we are an optimistic, decent, good people; a nation comprised of those who have often overcome the odds; individuals who have frequently faced tough circumstances but have persevered out of a belief that tomorrow can be better than today. In the mirror of Barack’s narrative, we see our best selves.
And while that would be enough, my support for Barack is rooted in something more. As one who worked for Bill Clinton before he was president and who served in the Clinton Administration, it would have been very easy—out of personal loyalty and respect—to join many of my friends and support Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. But my sense of history tells me that this moment we are in is too rare, the opportunity too precious, to do simply that which is easy. We are being challenged to stand outside of the prism of partisanship and to embrace a profoundly new direction for our politics and our collective future.
As a nation, the chance to adopt a paradigm shift in the national agenda is usually born of crisis: A civil war; a Great Depression; skyrocketing inflation rates and gas lines which stretch around city blocks. And in those moments, we often choose change because the status quo is untenable.
That same moment, Barack reminds audiences, is upon us now. With our nation at war, the planet in climate disarray and our economy sliding toward recession, both of the Democratic candidates offer similar prescriptions to solve these and other problems. There are real policy differences, to be sure, but the key issue for me not who’s got the most detailed plan but rather, who possesses the rare ability to bring the country together to get the hard work of change done? Who can harness the energy of this unique, historic moment?
I believe Barack is uniquely positioned to reach across party and social divisions to uplift the nation under a common vision. He has, I believe, the best opportunity to create a diverse, enduring coalition for change since Franklin Roosevelt put together his New Deal coalition in 1932.
In fact, Barack’s already demonstrated he can do it, whether in Illinois, where he brought adversaries together to make health care more accessible for hundreds of families, or the U.S. Senate, where he persuaded Republican colleagues to support landmark ethics reform legislation.
But Barack also knows how to reach out without losing himself. That’s why he’s the only presidential candidate who, along with my own Congresswoman, Barbara Lee, publicly and strongly opposed the war in Iraq from the start.
And Barack is the only candidate who’s attracted strong, broad support in all parts of this land: From the heartlands of Iowa to the conservative, rural counties of Nevada; from rolling hills of New Hampshire to the southern soils of South Carolina, Barack has attracted votes be they black or white, Latino or Asian, rich or poor, young or old, male or female. Barack can be a president for all of us.
So in this historic moment, when the winds of change are blowing across our state and throughout our country, I hope you’ll join me in standing for change and stand with Barack Obama on February 5.
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