Hope
November 3, 2008
Today, Barack Obama gave a speech at the University of Cincinnati. It was a great speech which touched upon his policies and decision making if elected President of the United States. However, neither his oratory skills nor his information was the amazing aspect to the speech, rather it was the thunderous ovation he received when he walked out to give his speech as seen in the clip attached.
Now I have to say, I have only been to one Presidential speech and it was one that President Clinton was giving in Naperville, Il when I was in high school. His speech was amazing. I am not sure what the speech was about, but I know the feeling of being in that room was a feeling I will never forget. Also, I do distinctly remember being amazed by the metal detectors that we had to go through and the men in black with semi automatic weapons who appeared out of no where gliding down from the roof within the auditorium. I remember the look of the President when he appeared and the sense of accomplishment that I had in knowing that I was one of the chosen students to be there. However, I don't remember why I was there, I don't remember his speech and I don't remember any kind of ovation anywhere close to what I witnessed on tv today.
It's not like today was an anomaly, but rather the normal response that people have at the sight of Obama. I can honestly say that I wasn't a supporter initially, even though he is the Senator from my home state and my beloved city of Chicago, Illinois. Everyone knows that since I have moved out East, any reference/connection to my Midwest roots receives an automatic acceptance from me. However, this was different, this was for the Presidency.
The same can not be said for my wife. She was a supporter from the beginning. She was in awe of him. I remember her going to one of his initial fund raising rallys in New York. Her sending me texts about the line, her sending me texts about not making it in before he arrived, her sending me texts about him walking towards her as he entered the building to let her and the others who didn't make it in know that he was sorry and would come out to greet them when he was done and her sending me a text of picture she took of him on her camera phone and telling me how AMAZING he was in person.
At the time, I must admit, I didn't get it. Did she really understand his policies? Did she really agree with his stance on issues? Or was she just happy that HE was running? Over time, I began to understand, I began to become a supporter. And recently his "30 minute campaign piece” aired on television and I just watched with awe. Honestly, the first time I had awe was reading the op ed piece in the New York Times from Carolyn Kennedy in which she compared Senator Barack Obama to the feeling that people described about her father. That one piece of writing is probably the biggest thing that tipped my scales for me from Hilary to Barack.
Anyway, I recently told a friend about how I felt after watching the 30 minute piece and she said, "oh I see you are drinking the Barack kool aid". That really stuck with me for numerous reasons, most of all, because I definitely have not taken to this position lightly. It took some time for me to believe he was the best candidate for the Presidency. She then began to explain how just because he can speak well, does not mean he can be a good President. Well all I can say is that I have to quote Carolyn Kennedy, "sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible. We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama." http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/opinion/27kennedy.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
I am a very confident person in myself and my abilities, but I honestly feel that he is just BETTER than me and he inspires me to do better. Any person that inspires others to do better and be better, is one that I hope we all would believe to be capable of being President and should be the ONLY type of person we want as our President. There are many questions that lie ahead, don't get me wrong, I am not blind. These are difficult times and the next four years will be full of difficult decisions and pressures unlike any time since the GREAT DEPRESSION. However listening to his philosophies, his thought process, and his agenda, I have only one thing in my heart, HOPE. What other feeling should we or I have????
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Comments (1)
I voted early. A columnist I read said that those of us who have already voted are no longer interested in the campaign. That can't be further from the truth. I feel relieved,proud and uncustomarily emotional. The campaign just sent me a ticket to the VICTORY party today in Grant Park and like most of us, I can't stand large crowds. But this is different, I am going. To be part of a historical event is an overwhelming proposition and I wouldn't miss it for the world. I will welcome our new president and Commander in Chief to his new position and I suspect there will be many tears flowing and some will be mine.
Posted 64 days ago by Cheryl
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