Before I start, I’d like to note that Obama was not my first choice to be the Democratic nominee. That honor would have to go to Dennis Kucinich. Perhaps it was a lack of pragmatism, but I believed for a while that if Kucinich garnered enough support, the media would take him seriously and he’d become a force of change. Nor was Obama my second choice, that would be John Edwards. I figured that I wouldn’t allow great to be the enemy of perfect and threw my support behind a candidate who not only spoke about issues that I cared greatly about, but one who seemed to me to be the most electable of the bunch at the time. When the field was reduced to just Hillary and Obama, I was rather depressed. It was exciting, to an extent, that in all likelihood the Democratic nominee would either be a woman or an African American. No one here needs to be reminded of how unprecedented that is. However, the candidate I knew a good deal about, Hillary, was far from my ideal candidate. And the candidate I knew very little about, I wasn’t terribly impressed with.
I suppose initially I was turned off by some of the people that Obama was associated with. I quickly softened my stance on this, and with the way the media has played the ‘guilt by association’ game, I’ve become so sickened that it caused me to turn around nearly 180 degrees. If everyone were judged by the company they keep, the people that they know and love, very few of us would ever have a future in politics. Qualities that should be valued in politics; empathy, compassion and understanding, would be brushed aside in favor of a far more hard-line approach that would produce politicians who are too concerned with associating with ‘good people’ and less concerned performing good deeds. Christians should be quick to note that Jesus’ entourage contained quite a few who would not have fallen under the label of ‘good people’ at the time, but I can’t imagine many would have the hubris to say that he should have disassociated himself from them. However, in spite of how unfairly I believed Obama was being treated by the media, I still couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for him. I looked at his supporters and I saw an extremely devoted and excited group of people, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the big deal was. I heard all these comparisons to cults, and while I didn’t repeat them, they didn’t seem all that inappropriate to me. That was until Obama gave his “More Perfect Union” speech. Not once in my life had I heard a politician deliver such a frank and mature speech on the topic of race. I had become so accustomed to politicians talking down to me, that it was almost shocking to hear a politician discuss an issue without once attempting to appeal to the lowest common denominator. He spoke honestly not only about this country’s history of racial division, but of his own racial heritage. One part of Obama’s speech struck me particularly hard. As this speech was done in large part to address the Reverend Wright “controversy”, he said the following:
“I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother - a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe.
These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love.”
A tingle went down the spine of my back as I heard those words. I’m extremely dismayed that he’s been forced to backtrack on them a bit, but I don’t believe that makes them any less honest. I knew I was watching history being made with that speech, and I went about trying to find what about his words appealed so much to me. I thought it was fantastic that a politician was using the national stage to hit back strongly against detractors. Those that would attempt to strike such a low blow by going after a close friend rather than directly attacking Obama’s message. The talking heads who went after Obama because of Reverend Wright knew that the words that Reverend Wright uttered would not effect Obama’s job as Commander in Chief in the slightest, but they knew that it would put him in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation. He could disassociate himself with Reverend Wright, and then not only would he lose a close friend, but I’d imagine they’d do their best to paint him as a panderer as well. Or he could continue on and be forced to have Reverend Wright as an albatross hung about his neck. Thinking of things in such a binary fashion, I never imagined that there’d be a third way of resolving things. That Obama could not only maintain his freedom of association, but also throw this type of gutter politics back at those who would throw such a low blow. Once again, it’s very sad that Obama ultimately had to distance himself from Reverend Wright, but I still give him a great amount of credit for his speech, and for refusing to play politics as usual with an issue that meant so much to him.
Last night, Obama gave another speech. And while I’ve only been able to vote in two previous Presidential elections, I can honestly say that it was the most exciting and inspirational speech I’ve heard by a Presidential candidate (nominee) in my lifetime. Obama was magnanimous on this night that he clinched his nomination. Watching brief clips of McCain deliver his speech attempting to distance himself from Bush (while he still has the man actively, though sometimes covertly campaign for him), the contrast couldn’t have been more noticeable. While McCain did his geriatric best to suggest to his audience that he won’t be nearly the disaster that his predecessor was (while conveniently forgetting to mention why he didn’t use his last seven and half years as a Senator to do anything about this out of control Executive that he now rails against), Obama has been fighting the good fight for his entire adult life. Even those who would suggest that Obama has used his career in the Senate to act as a launching pad for his Presidential campaign still have to acknowledge his many years as a community organizer, university professor, lawyer and a political activist. He has a proven record in the Illinois Senate, reaching across the aisle to work with republicans to regulate the payday loan industry and to enact regulations on predatory mortgage lending to reduce home foreclosures. He also garnered bipartisan support in the Illinois legislature with regards to ethics reform and health care laws. I could say quite a bit about Obama’s work prior to running for President, but I’d encourage those who are on the fence about Obama to find out more on their own.
Yes, I have no doubt that Obama has the experience necessary to become President. However, more important than that, I know that he has the values and drive necessary to become a
great President. He’s proven that he’s capable of fighting when necessary. In those many instances when I’ve become accustomed to Democrats folding under pressure, Obama has shown that won’t give in because it might seem the expedient thing to do. In instances where I’ve seen many politicians develop a hot head, Obama has maintained a cool temperance that allowed him to defuse possibly harmful situations. These aspects of his personality lead me to believe that Obama is not simply repeating talking points when he speaks about the three most important issues of his campaign: Ending the Iraq war, becoming energy independent, and providing universal health care. Rather, I take it as a promise that he’s going to do everything in his power to address these issues from the moment he’s sworn in.
This leads me back to my initial comments. Like many of you, I found the exuberance displayed by these fervent Obama supporters, these “Obamites” or “Obamaniacs” if you will, to be irrational. I thought that many of them were supporting him simply because he was an African American. And while I didn’t blame them if that were the case, that certainly wasn’t enough to earn my enthusiastic support. Others, many younger Gen X&Yers, I thought supported Obama because he is young himself, and hence were supporting him against their better interests. And then I saw Obama give the most frank and unflinching account of racism in this country that I’ve ever seen delivered by a politician on the national stage. That speech made me proud and excited to stand behind him as a candidate. Then came last night. I watched our presumptive nominee give an amazing and inspiring speech to a crowd twenty thousand strong. I don’t recall seeing him look down at his notes a single time as he addressed the massive crowd of his fervent supporters. I shortly thereafter heard another figure, that there were another fifteen thousand of his supporters waiting outside, probably happy to just be involved, no matter how loosely, in that historic night. Thirty five thousand people, all eager just to hear this man's words, can you imagine them any less eager to get him elected? I briefly thought to myself that if I had the opportunity to be amongst those 15,000 that night, I would have jumped at the chance. Does the fact that these people went through such lengths just to stand in line amongst their follow supporters, hoping to hear the message of hope coming from within make these people Obamaniacs? You’re damn right. But a cult?! I don’t think so!
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