|
Tomorrow is what this country needs and deserves.
Barack Hussein Obama will take the oath of office, and become the 44th President.
I will admit, I always hoped that the 44th President was a different man.
In late 2002, I began my mission to push for the election of Senator John Kerry as the President of the United States. In 2004, we came so close, and getting so close only made the loss that much more difficult. As I look back on that election day, I wonder to myself: Did I work hard enough. Did I knock on enough doors. Did I make enough calls. Did all of us really do enough? He raised more money than anyone in history, got more votes than any Democratic candidate in history, participated in one of the most historic and most talked elections in our nations history. But all of that wasn't enough for John Forbes Kerry.
I'm heard some Democrats suggest that Howard Dean or another candidate could have beaten Bush. This is surely debateable. We'll never know for sure if that statement is true, one way or the other. What I do know is John Kerry won the nomination as the most electable candidate and with a unique American story to tell. He made many mistakes, many of them tragic. But he ran a good and decent campaign that energized the nation, and brought gigantic numbers of Americans to the polls on election day to voice their opinions.
I'll never get over that election. As I look back, I realize that loss had to happen to give us what we have today. How I wish we could have skipped Katrina, skipped the surge in Iraq, skipped Roberts and Alito, and skipped our economy falling further and further into crisis. But that's not the path history took us down. We went through two long and torturing terms of George W. Bush. We shook our heads as two good men in Al Gore and John Kerry "lost" to a less than good member of the Bush family.
On this last day of the Bush Presidency, I've done a lot of reflecting. And all day long, it came back to that painful day in late 2004. I worked all day long to bring it home for the Senator, and I watched that as my efforts seemed more and more of a big giant waste. I never cried more than the following morning in my life. I wasn't just concerned about myself, but my family and friends. The Bush Presidency did a lot in destroying this nation and it's going to take a lot to rebuild it after eight long years.
As I watched Kerry's acceptance speech today, I thought to myself how Kerry and his campaign made many mistakes that Obama and his team of advisors worked hard to avoid. Kerry went through many unfair and untrue attacks from the GOP, that Obama learned from and worked to counter and avoid.
I'm so proud of President-elect Obama, and the fact he learned those tough lessons from 2004. He ran an incredibly effective campaign. And while I entered 2008 firmly wishing that my candidate would enter the race, I leave 2008 and enter 2009 more hopeful about our countries future than I've been in years.
Tomorrow will be the closest thing to closure that I'll ever get.
To President Obama, Vice President Biden, and Senate Foreign Relation Committee Chairman John Kerry....
Thank you, and best of luck in the years ahead! You have my support, admiration and committment to help you whenever necessary!!
:dem:
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
