We wait and watch as our investments, our savings, our lives are being reduced to nothing. The election and transfer of power can not come fast enough! We are ready for a leader that protects the middle class and makes things right. We are hopeful the first thing to come from our new president Barack Obama is the removal of the 140 billion dollars in pork added to the bailout/rescue, followed by an absolute re-assesment of govt spending. There has always been a disproportionate line between rich and middle class that is now being redefined as extremely wealthy and poor. Barack will inherit the worse of our days and somehow needs to make it all better. It will not be a time for baby steps, real change needs to be implemented. Starting with equality and same sex partner rights. we need to be able to protect and share what little we have left, we need the tax breaks and other rights afforded to heterosexual married couples. We are not advocating marriage or the change in definition, we just want recognized national rights, we need them.
When I attended the organizational meeting in Racine WI for Senator Obama, I had already heard the phrase, "Yes, We Can." So, when we stood up to introduce ourselves I used the phrase and has been using it ever since. I cannot began to say how proud I am to be a part of this movement. I'm an African American, who suffered racial injustice in the south and to see, in my lifetime, a young man, who is politically savvy, brilliant, and one who has managed to come from the "under dog" status to "the presumptive nominee." feels my heart with joy. In March of this year, I sent a letter to the editor in Racine, expressing the aforementioned attributes of our Senator. I told the editor that I would cut as many clippings as I could, and make a scrap book for my gramdchildren, because this is history in the making. He has overcome whatever obstacles that has come his way with dignity and grace. I'm proud to say that I'm a part of that dignity and grace. I want my grandchildren to remember this time, this place. We were told from the offset, that Senator Obama believed in integrity, respectability, and accountability. I believe his team and volunteers have maintained that standard. My prayers are with him everyday, and I believe God will take care of him.
I, as I am sure most of you, are sick and tired of the MSM talking about Rev. Wright. Yes, the things he said were terrible and unforgivable. Barack has denounced, disagreed, and disowned him.
What more do people want Barack to do? Why aren't they making Hillary apologize over and over for her out and out lie about sniper fire? Why is no one making Sen. McCain explain, why the tax cuts he so venametly disapproved of are now okay?
What is wrong with this whole picture? Is it fair to crucify a good man for not wanting to "trash" his minister who lead him to Christ? I am looking at this through an entirely different perspective. Until Rev. Wright came out and actually critizided Barack personally, I feel Barack felt he owed this man some sort of loyalty.
Didn't anyone else feel this way? I felt the entire time Barack disapproved of what was said but was also so torn over turning on this man who had taught him to forgive and to "do unto others". Barack seems to be exactly the kind of person or friend I would want and would be proud to call my friend. Most politicians will do anything, whether it be "trash" or destroy a fellow opponent or just throw them to the wolves.
Barack is one of those rare, if not only almost extinct politicians who has not only great character, but believes in loyalty. Loyalty among politicians is something we rarely witness. I think his loyalty says a great deal about his personality in general.
He is a man of great principal and I think that is the reason he does not jump from day to day to coincide with the polls. In the end, this unfortunately may be his downfall, however I would like to see and believe that more people admire a man of great character and would want someone of his stature in the White House. We have just had an adulter and a liar in there and I think an honest man with not only good judgement but great character would be a great change.
The United States of America has lost a lot of our popularity all over the world and we need someone in the White House who will lift us all up and will be able to repair all of the damage that the "Bush Regime" has caused us.
I may be one of those people who believes in "the Audacity of Hope", but I pray I am not alone. Surely there are others of you out there who want to be able to believe and trust our President.
I am putting all of my faith in "Hope" and in "Truth". If others out there do the same, then we all will be addressing Senator Obama as President Obama. I am sorry to say , but both Hillary and McCain have proven to me over and over again that they will follow the polls which ever way they go.
Is that really what we want of our next President. This is one of the most important elections of our lifetimes. Would it not be better to have a man in the White House who will not only think long and hard before he makes a decison and speaks than to have someone who reads the papers to check the polls before making a decision?
What a week. I find myself trying to organize the scrambled thoughts of Jeremiah Wright, passport gate, Obama’s speech on “racial tensions”, and Hillary calling out of Obama on the Michigan and Florida primaries. There was John McCain confusing Al Qaeda with Shiites, Bill Clinton saying that John McCain and Hillary are the two candidates who love America, and Bill Richardson’s endorsement. It was a very stimulating week.
On every news channel, every program, every reporter was questioning why Obama was a part of this church or had anything to do with Rev. Wright. Obama went on the talk programs; he offered an explanation and apology. I did not have confidence in Obama’s first statement, I felt they gave new fodder to the opposition but I understand why Obama felt the need to say something, the media hyped the country to new heights of hysteria (which resembled the days leading up to the Iraqi war). Obama’s comments on that evening was an attempt to quell the anxieties felt by the public for various reasons and blunt the media barrage making the sale on the idea that Obama was going to be a “black radical”. I was looking for a courageous person to step forward take control of the conversation and offer direction to the nation. Someone had to move the country beyond the clichés and stereotypes, and speak honestly to the American people. We needed a leader.
On Tuesday a Leader came forward. Leadership gave a speech in the City of Brotherly Love. In a classy and historic fashion Barack Obama addressed the differences in our cultural politics. Gripes that inhibited our ability to genuinely discuss social and economic issues, creating a situation where election after election Americans routinely vote against their interest and send the same politicians to Washington who has been bought off by the corporations and interest groups.
True leadership is facing tough critique and learning from it, it is standing out and standing up when it would be much easier just to go along. It is speaking truth, when truth could be dangerous. We know great leaders and something they share is opposing establishment when no one else dared. Any candidate could have come forward and show leadership. John could have seized the moment and attempt to bring the nation together, and refocus on subjects of common interests. Hillary Clinton could have come forward and commanded this subject, spoke to the color divide and try to unite. That would have surely gained her points with the African American Community but also she would look like a leader. Any one of the candidates could have made this moment their moment and bring the country together moving us away from the hysterics of the main stream media. The only person who chose to step forward was Barack Obama. Alone, he faced the bright lights in a city where the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence sealing in it many freedoms being eroded by the Bush Administration, in a state he is predicted to lose.
The speech, I think did what it was designed to do, examine the subject of race and start an honest dialogue. The speech made me revisit a question I ponder from time to time, this description of “race”. Should we label ourselves in terms of “race”? Race to me implies competition and unless we believe that we are in competition with the other color groups, then “race” seems contrary to American ideals. If we believe we are different races we will never be able to solve the common issues. By defining ourselves as “races” don’t we concede that one “race” should seek dominance, wouldn’t natural law come into play and one “race” has no choice but to subjugate the other for its own survival? Aren’t we one race? By saying that we are of different “races” to me is like saying there are drastic differences between us, as if each color group offers a contrast as stark as between the Bull and the Feline. They share many things (two eyes, tail, etc) but those are two groups that can never really come together, is the difference between us that striking? To say we are different races for me plays into the color divide. It dictates that power should be responsive to skin color, implying we are fundamentally different. I don’t think we are. We are one race. Why should people continue the entangled complicated dance of division by “race” never coming close enough to touch the real problems that permeate American Society?
Obama had the courage to speak to the American people on the longest standing and most controversial issue in American history. He did it with great insight and wisdom, speaking for all Americans, exhibiting understanding of the sensitivity of the subject matter. He seemed sincere, authentic and knowledgeable. Obama reiterated that we needed to bring the public back in public service by holding our elected officials accountable and not be distracted by the petty arguments of the interest groups and the media.
I feel like I don’t have to force myself to support Obama as I have had to do in previous elections. With Obama I feel the public is getting a real advocate for the people and not a puppet for the lobbyists. There is no way of knowing for certain what an Obama presidency will be like, but I am convinced he can handle not only any crisis that may come about during his presidency, but the everyday “crisis” that faces the average Americans: Healthcare, childcare, employment, fair wages and working conditions, affordable housing, decent schools and a good education, safe and clean streets, affordable consumer market.
Obama has run a superb and consistent campaign, from the logo to the website, the discipline, fundraising, organization, and strategy. He has carried the same message to every state, the same message when he was high in the polls and when he was low in the polls. It is the same message of unity, justice, and opportunity for all. A message of optimism and hope while not shying away from the reality that America has a diverse consciousness.
States that did not have significance in previous primaries are now having their voices and votes count because of this candidacy. Obama didn’t just take advantage of the “black vote” as many politicians have in the past, nor did he disregard the so called “blue collar-rural” voter because the media and the opposition infer that segment of the voting public too ignorant and prejudice to vote for Obama. He didn’t leave out the Latino voter because they did not vote for him, nor did he ignore the female vote because his opponent may have an inherent advantage with that voting block. Obama is speaking to all people and for all Americans, showing we are all part of the American story. Also important is Obama showed enlightened vision; a blueprint for healing and moving forward, out of the darkness of the Bush Administration and the politics of ethnic and gender division, fear, and corruption. Barack showed that he can be and will be a president for all the peoples of America, elevating both our standards and our standing in the world. The events of the past weeks confirm that Barack Obama has the experience and judgment to be the next President. In this great experiment, let this man lead.
(See my previous post “We Need Moses”)
