For you: Dedicated!
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I don't know what's going on or what does it mean, but you're a WARIOR!
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Keep firing those arrows and keep drawing your sword!
Because this...
...is what they're after!
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Please stay in the fight and do what you can! Stay encouraged!
Thank you,
EMK
Bleach: "Those who have the power are eventually drawn into battle!"
"The society's degradation relies/ not on our differences/ but the separtion within."
--Linkin Park, "Frgt/10."
The Obama Factor
By Alison Hill
Something is happening in America. People are speaking out. Down to earth, hardworking people, facing increasing debt, unemployment and lack of health care. The middle class has finally had enough. Groups notorious for political apathy are even getting involved.
The ‘proles’ have found a voice and are no longer using such excuses as, ‘my vote doesn’t count.’ So what has caused this surge of interest? The answer could be Barack Obama and his ability to inspire. It could be the fact that people are so fed up with President Bush they are desperate for change – any change. Or maybe it’s a combination of both. Either way Barack Obama is definitely seen as the man of the people; champion of the little guy. Whether you like him or not, it’s hard to deny that the Illinois Senator has stirred the nation and woken people up.
Even the most cynical would have to concur. But is it all just artfully crafted rhetoric? If elected, will he actually deliver on all the promises he’s made to the American people? Or will he ignore middle class issues when he no longer needs to win votes, like so many politicians before him?
In the words of Senator John McCain, “who is the real Barack Obama?” At a campaign rally in the small city of Asheville, North Carolina, 28,000 people seem to know the answer.
Many have been standing for hours in the hot sun to hear Obama speak. Some even camped out over night to ensure a spot. It sounds like fans at a rock concert not voters at a political event. But this is how it’s been for Obama. At first some of Obama’s admirers came across as fanatical and naive, fawning over someone they knew very little about, asking no questions, just believing everything he said. But speaking to Barack Obama supporters in North Carolina has educated me a little about the candidate and his campaign.
It goes much deeper than mere idolatry of one man. Let’s call it the Obama Factor, a movement that has inspired and united the downtrodden. He has managed to reach people and appeal to their deepest emotions. In some ways the leader loses dominance once the momentum is unleashed and the followers find a common cause.
In this case the cause is the treatment of middle class America. The energy and enthusiasm in the packed Asheville High School Stadium is palpable. Thousands of people are ready for something new, something better. And they truly believe Obama is the candidate who will deliver. “He’s inspiring,” says a teenage girl, “every time he speaks it’s amazing and it’s impossible to listen to him without getting emotional.” A woman concerned about health care says she relates to Obama because he too encountered problems with insurance companies, when his mother had cancer. “He really listens to people and he listens to the needs of the people,” someone else tells me as the camera zooms in on her smiling face. What did you think of the speech? I ask an articulate ten year old girl. “Remarkable,” she answers, “I absolutely loved it.” A fifth grader – talking about a political rally! Obama is the candidate tackling the real issues that effect real people, not pampered film stars, Wall Street CEO’s, rich politicians and multi millionaires, his supporters remind me. “That’s why I like Obama and Biden, they’re for everybody, not just the healthy wealthy,” says a young woman.“Ninety percent of the people that are paying taxes are being abused - they’re being taken advantage of,” a man in the crowd tells me, “The tax dollars are going to the wealthy and we’re being forgotten about.” I approach a man holding a ‘yes we can’ sign and ask him if he thinks Obama will deliver on his promises, “yes,” he answers immediately, “I believe he will, to the best of his abilities.” I probe further, “why do you believe this?” “I just believe it… I feel a connection with him.” Another man tells me Obama will win by a landslide and all you have to do is look at the numbers attending his rallies for proof, “that’s what we represent,” he says, “that’s what change represents.” Others tell me Obama’s ‘for the middle class’, which constitutes most of North Carolina and the rest of the country. He’s also the only politician reaching out to young people, and according to a first time voter, “Barack Obama speaks down to earth with us – he doesn’t sugar coat it.”
Obama supporters are plentiful, they’re demanding to be heard and feeling empowered for the first time in years. They’re full of passion, inspiration and most of all hope. With this kind of following it would seem that McCain doesn’t stand a chance. My ten year old interviewee thinks the battle’s already won. I ask her how close the race will be. “I think McCain will be in the toilet,” she says, with a serious face, “and Obama is going to be living the high life.” Others agree that Obama will win the election by a healthy margin, while some exercise caution and anticipate a very tight race.
As for the Tar Heel State: “We’re going to win North Carolina this time,” a woman exclaims with confidence as a crowd around her cheers. “We have a record number of new voters and it’s Obama who they overwhelmingly support.” North Carolina has voted Republican since 1976. But polls now show it’s practically neck and neck. Can this momentum hold out? Is enthusiasm enough to swing this traditionally red state to Obama?
As the saying goes, talk is cheap, and promises can be broken. Obama is a great orator and has tremendous presence. But one could argue that the message may be a little too full of rhetoric and lacking substance. Is there more belief than proof? Is the word ‘hope’ too idealistic? Can Obama, or anyone else for that matter, implement true change?
John McCain is a formidable opponent with a strong support base in North Carolina and across the country. Republicans are not as vocal and not as visible as the Democrats this time, but they’re out there, waiting patiently to cast their ballots. Republicans always turn out to vote.
Will Obama supporters do likewise? Will there be enough of them to win him the election? Either way, this is a fascinating race and has captured the attention of most Americans, who are happily involving themselves in the Democratic process – some for the first time. Politics has therefore become inclusive in some ways. Maybe that’s the change we should celebrate.
Alison Hill is a featured writer for Xomba.com
www.xomba.com/obama_factor
I have been reading a few articles lately about the VP rumors and have come to this awesome conclusion. Beyond the list, let us look at who is helping pick this person...............
Caroline Kennedy
WoW, I just am not sure that she has participated in government before (???)
Other than the award she gives out, I just don't recall any actual government involvement.
A local musuem has her dolls on display right now, I am going to go this summer.
I am not trying to lessen her ability, I actually think it adds to Barack message that Washington needs fixed and fixing it doesn't necessarily involve Washington experience.
Just thinking..
Barack ON!!
Michelle did an awesome job on the CNN interview tonight in stating clearly that she, Barack, and the campaign are committed to moving forward and that she will not be continuing to discuss the pastor controversy. GOOD FOR YOU, MICHELLE!!! And I expect that Barack will do the same thing when he is confronted with these questions on the campaign trail. :) Caroline also did an awesome job talking about how Barack DOES appeal to women and to blue collar Americans.
Here's the link to the video on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/04/30/michelle.obama.interview/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
As we move on with our campaign and we look at the different options for vice-president; we can possibly come up with quite a few names. Some of them even contemplate the possibility of Senator Clinton being that, what some people call a Dreamed Ticket.
I would rather think in some other Dreamed Tickets like Obama-Gore; not quite feasible at this time;
But there is another possibility that I much rather like to think about and that according to the latest developments could be a very certain possibility.
What if … and this is only my speculation Senator Obama chooses what in my opinion would be the best option ever … Caroline Kennedy.
He could be consolidating All Americans Will; with just this union.
I do believe that Caroline is a very well informed woman, very involved in politics (even when we don’t hear much about her) since she rather keep a not noticeable position most of the time.
What do you think?
Some information about her, extracted from the John F. Kennedy Library web page http://www.jfklibrary.org
Leonel
Caroline Kennedy is an attorney and the editor of the New York Times best selling A Patriot’s Handbook; The Best-Loved Poems of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; A Family of Poems - My Favorite Poetry for Children; and Profiles in Courage for Our Time, and the co-author of The Right to Privacy and In Our Defense: The Bill of Rights in Action.
From 2002-2004, Ms. Kennedy served as chief executive for the Office of Strategic Partnerships for the New York City Department of Education where she helped raise more than $65 million in private support for the city’s public schools. She currently serves as the Vice Chair of The Fund for Public Schools.
Ms. Kennedy is the President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and a member of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award Committee. She is a Director of the Commission on Presidential Debates, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and serves as Honorary Chairman of the American Ballet Theatre.
Ms. Kennedy was born on November 27, 1957. She is a graduate of Harvard University and Columbia Law School. She lives in New York City with her husband Edwin Arthur Schlossberg, president of Edwin Schlossberg Inc., a multi-disciplinary design company that specializes in interactive exhibit design and museum master-planning. Kennedy and Schlossberg were married on July 19, 1986. They have three children.
Read more on Senator Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-edward-m-kennedy-/barack-obama_b_83668.html
When I did my previous post, below, I should've realized something even bigger was up when Caroline Kennedy endorsed Barack. A Kennedy wouldn't do something like that in isolation.
Thank you Senator, Congressman, and Lady Caroline, Kennedy
That was fantastic!
Something bigger than even I had hoped is happening. There are forces at play here beyond simple imagination, forces so immense that any obstacle to their progress will come to a swift end. Even a force as ancient and unyielding as time is getting skewed, it seems to somehow be feeding on itself, growing stronger as each string of America's proud past is devoured and is reborn with its old spirit and patriotism intact, but refreshed, revitalized and recommitted to taking the reins of the unfinished work that father time has deemed necessary and urgent. Those threads intertwined with other more tangible elements on that stage today. Generations, race and gender were woven together and have been combined into a string so strong that father time himself is proud to set it on the path to the future and watch it unwind into its full glory. That thread is Barack Obama and it can not be broken, or torn, or even frayed and it is unwinding on an unstoppable path to the future. We are lucky enough to be able to bear witness to its evolution and these will be moments that we will proudly look back on and pass on through story and deed for generations to come.
For those of you that are new to this blog and just opening up to the hope of possibility, I offer a story I wrote a while back that I think is appropriate to the day.
Obama's Moment in Time
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/447956/obamas_moment_in_time.html
Obama '08 - History in the Making
Who would have dared to hope for endorsements like this!
"A president like my father"- a complement that would humble the most arrogant.
And the endorsement of Teddy himself! This early in the race!
This is getting the point across.
We want change. We want unity. We want focus on the task ahead, and we are TIRED of negative politics.
Go Obama! Let us change the United States and let us start now.
Carolyn Kennedy's OpEd
Endorsement Speach
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/27/caroline-kennedy-endorses-obama/#comment-347396
ANN January 26, 2008 9:41 pm ETWhat does Caroline know about the change in leadership they had in the 1960s? Somebody should explain her the world is 50 years older and confronted with other problems…. America needs a pragmatic leader not a dreamer. Caroline has a full stomach so she can afford the talk plus she needs some excitement to avoid a boring life.
Hillary'08!
I still hope the SC was a wake up call for the white people. To be honest, I hoped for a more objective voting from the black community. I knew Obama will win SC, but the result shows that the blacks voted with the 'brother' not for the most qualified person. I accept differences, but the profile of the black vote was clearly biased.
It saddens me to see such racially charged madness within persons like Ann (poster under article). But at the same time I am not surprised. Obama stands for unity, if you watch his speeches you will see his supporters are mostly white, spanish, female, black, male...oh wait, I guess that means diverse. Of course persons like Ann would fear the message that Obama brings. Of course a follower of Hillary Clinton would revert to the same underhanded politics as her "leader". Of course ignorance blocks logic, insight and the ability to look toward the future.
Concerning Caroline's cousins' endorsement of Hillary Clinton, notice that no Obama supporters are insulting him for his right as an AMERICAN CITIZEN. Those who challenge Carolines' statement that Obama reminds her most of her father the late GREAT JFK should be ashamed of themselves. Who would know the father more than daddys little girl. Do you really think her cousin has a better idea of who he was? Could anyone tell you more about your own parents? Even in my youth I see that so many Americans are stuck with limited access to higher cognition, thinking out of the box. And it is my observation that only those persons are unable to see the greatness of this man.
Obama is whishy washy, but Hillarys change in position and accent according to demographic proves her otherwise? He is unexperienced, isn't that in essence the same thing opposers of JFK said of him? You question the man's integrity and morality, but you support a candidate that exploits womens' natural instinct to nurture and protect; i.e. crying on camera? You say that Obama is incapable of defending this country against threats, but Hillary's crying will ward off our enemies?
It saddens me that European, African, Thai and South American immigrants within my university can see what is best for this country more clearly than some of its own citizens. But then again, all I see is how neccessary Obama is. It is he that will move past those who seek to hold us back with fear. Fear may have controlled generations before, but it will have no hold on us. Hillary, Ann and the like are controlled by their true fear of change, but the only thing we fear is what will come of this country, WHAT HAS COME OF THIS COUNTRY, because of the lack of leadership. We need Obama because we NEED CHANGE! Hillary, Ann and friends may think we can't BUT WE CAN! And guess what WE WILL!
Although I was not even born when President Kennedy was killed, his persona has loomed large in my life. My parents were both staunch supporters of John F. Kennedy. When they speak of him, my mother especially, they glow with pride and and become wistful and mournful for the loss of the man and his potential. My mother has told me many times of the sadness she felt when President Kennedy died. She speaks as if he were a member of her family, and tells me that the whole country felt that way. Images of this president and his young family, have always made this generation seem something close to mythical to me. Consequently, I have always hoped for, and to some extent, expected this same kind of reaction from myself to one of the other Presidents that have served during my lifetime. I have been disappointed every time.
I just watched Senator Obama's post South Carolina speech, and, once again, I have tears in my eyes. I have hope coming out of my ears right now.! When I first heard him speak before the Democratic Convention, I thought, well that is who they should have running for President! I have watched him speak many times since then, and have to say that I am moved to tears at the possiblity of this presidency every time. I watched his wife, Michelle, at an event on C-SPAN a couple of weeks ago, and was struck by how someone so beautiful and stylish could be so down to earth, eloquent, and truly funny. I feel as if this man and his family could make us all proud to be Americans again.
Over the years, these aforementioned parents have somehow become Republicans. My dad is retired from the Air Force, so I guess I can see the evolution of the beast, but it is strange. They support gay rights, do not attend church, are not affluent, and support government social programs, however they generally vote Republican. I saw them tonight and decided to ask them what they were thinking about the presidential nominations. I have especially been wanting to speak with my Mom about her opinion, because I was really hoping she was seeing the same hopefullness in Obama that she had seen all those years ago in Kennedy. I was afraid though, because any broach of politics in my family these days generally causes my Mom to groan and become irritable. At least that is the case when I am around, since I usually stir up "trouble", even though Dad is always up for the debate. They disagreed on the Rep side, with my mom supporting McCain, and my dad going with Romney (probably influenced by that loco limbaugh, who seems to be the only person on talk radio here in central texas, but that's another story...), however, both of them said they supported Obama on the Democratic side. The fact that they even mentioned a Democrat is amazing. An anti-war Democrat at that! And they are aware of his positions on the issues! My mom spoke of how great she thought Michelle Obama is, and how beautiful their children are. She was also struck by the honesty and, gosh darnit, the wholesomeness that this family exudes.
I actually think my parents would vote for Barack Obama over any of the Republican nominees, because I believe they are hoping for the same thing I am hoping for. I like to think that they, like me, are desperate to again feel the pride in our president that Americans felt in President Kennedy. My mom was a young mother at the same time another young mother, then Jacqueline Kennedy, lost her husband. When my mother recounts to me her memories of the Kennedy era, she always mentions how the young Caroline and John Jr. were so brave.
Caroline Kennedy's endorsement is so eloquent. I don't think she realizes how much it will mean to so many people.
With Caroline giving her support to Barack, many of you mention how much JFK meant to you.
I was born in 1974, so I've never heard a living public leader like John, Martin, or Bobby. When I read JFK's nomination acceptance speech, its Barack I hear through John's words. Besides the references to Communism and some dated references, it could be today. Maybe that's it. Maybe the torch has been passed.
********************
Under any circumstances, however, the victory that we seek in November will not be easy. We all know that in our hearts. We recognize the power of the forces that will be aligned against us.
But I think the American people expect more from us than cries of indignation and attack. The times are too grave, the challenge too urgent, and the stakes too high – to permit the customary passions of political debate. We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us through that darkness to a safe and sane future. As Winston Churchill said on taking office some twenty years ago: if we open a quarrel between the present and the past, we shall be in danger of losing the future.
Today our concern must be with the future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do.
Abroad, the balance of power is shifting. There are new and more terrible weapons – new and uncertain nations – new pressures of population and deprivation. One-third of the world, it has been said, may be free – but one-third is the victim of cruel repression – and the other one-third is rocked by the pangs of poverty, hunger and envy. More energy is released by the awakening of these new nations then by the fission of the atom itself.
Here, at home, the changing face of the future is equally revolutionary. The New Deal and the Fair Deal were bold measures for their generations – but this is a new generation.A technological revolution on the farm has led us to an output explosion – but we have not yet learned how to harness that explosion usefully, while protecting our farmers’ right to full parity income.
A peaceful revolution for human rights – demanding an end to racial discrimination in all parts of our community life has strained at the leashes imposed by timid executive leadership.
A medical revolution has extended the life of our elder citizens without providing the dignity and security those later years deserve. And a revolution of automation finds machines replacing men in the mines and mills of America, without replacing their incomes or their training or their needs to pay the family doctor, grocer and landlord.
There has also been a change – a slippage – in our intellectual and moral strength. Seven lean years of drought and famine have withered a field of ideas. Blight has descended on our regulatory agencies – and a dry rot, beginning in Washington, is seeping into every corner of America – in the payola mentality, the expense account way of life, the confusion between what is legal and what is right. Too many Americans have lost their way, their will, and their sense of historic purpose.
It is a time, in short, for a new generation of leadership – new men to cope with new problems and new opportunities.
All over the world, particularly in the newer nations, young men are coming to power – men who are not bound by the traditions of the past – men who are not blinded by the old fears and hates and rivalries – young men who can cast off the old slogans and delusions and suspicions.
The Republican nominee-to-be, of course, is also a young man. But his approach is as old as McKinley. His party is the party of the past. His speeches are generalities from Poor Richard’s Almanac. Their platform, made up of left-over Democratic planks, has the courage of our old convictions. Their pledge is a pledge to the status quo – and today there can be no status quo.
For I stand tonight facing west on what was once the last frontier. From the lands that stretch three thousand miles behind me, the pioneers of old gave up their safety, their comfort and sometimes their own lives to build a new world here in the West. They were not the captives of their own doubts, the prisoners of their own price tags. Their motto was not “every man for himself” but “all for the common cause.” They were determined to make that new world strong and free, to overcome its hazards and its hardships, to conquer the enemies that threatened from without and within.
Today some would say that those struggles are all over – that all the horizons have been explored – that all the battles have ben won – that there is no longer an American frontier.
But I trust that no one in this vast assemblage will agree with those sentiments. For the problems are not all solved and the battlers are not all won – and we stand today on the edge of a New Frontier – the frontier of the 1960's – a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils – a frontier of unknown opportunities and perils, a frontier of unfulfilled hopes and threats.
Woodrow Wilson’s New Freedom promised our nation a new political and economic framework. Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal promised security and succor to those in need. But the New Frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises, it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them. It appeals to their pride, not to their pocketbook – it holds out the promise of more sacrifice instead of more security.
But I tell you the New Frontier is here, whether we seek it or not. Beyond that frontier are the uncharted areas of science and space, unsolved problems of peace and war, unconquered pockets of ignorance and prejudice, unanswered questions of poverty and surplus. It would be easier to shrink back from that frontier, to look to the safe mediocrity of the past, to be lulled by good intentions and high rhetoric – and those who prefer that course should not cast their votes for me regardless of party.
But I believe the times demand new invention, innovation, imagination, decision. I am asking each of you to be pioneers on that New Frontier. My call is to the young in heart, regardless of age – to all who respond to the Scriptural call: “Be strong and of good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed.”
For courage – not complacency – is our need today – leadership, not salesmanship. And the only valid test of leadership is the ability to lead, and lead vigorously. A tired nation, said David Lloyd George, is a Tory nation, and the United States today cannot afford to be either tired or Tory.
There may be those who wish to hear more – more promises to this group or that – more harsh rhetoric about the men in the Kremlin – more assurances of a golden future, where taxes are always low and subsidies ever high. But my promises are in the platform you have adopted. Our ends will not be won by rhetoric and we can have faith in the future only if we have faith in ourselves.
For the harsh facts of the matter are that we stand on this frontier at a turning-point in history. We must prove all over again whether this nation, or any nation so conceived, can long endure; whether our society, with its freedom of choice, its breadth of opportunity, its range of alternatives, can compete with the single-minded advance of the Communist system.
Can a nation organized and governed such as ours endure? That is the real question. Have we the nerve and the will? Can we carry through in an age where we will witness not only new breakthroughs in weapons of destruction, but also a race for mastery of the sky and the rain, the ocean and the tides, the far side of space and the inside of men’s minds?
Are we up to the task – are we equal to the challenge? Are we willing to match the Russian sacrifice of the present for the future, or must we sacrifice our future in order to enjoy the present?
That is the question of the New Frontier. That is the choice our nation must make – a choice that lies not merely between two men or two parties, but between the public interest and private comfort – between national greatness and national decline – between the fresh air of progress and the stale, dank atmosphere of “normalcy” – between determined dedication and creeping mediocrity.
All mankind waits upon our decision. A whole world looks to see what we will do. We cannot fail their trust, we cannot fail to try.
It has been a long road from that first snowy day in New Hampshire to this crowded convention city. Now begins another long journey, taking me into your cities and homes all over America. Give me your help, your hand, your voice, your vote. Recall with me the words of Isaiah: “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary.”
As we face the coming challenge, we too shall wait upon the Lord, and ask that he renew our strength, Then shall we be equal to the test. Then shall we not be weary. And then we shall prevail.
