Early in 2007, I heard rumblings about a senator from Illinois. I watched him flounder in the polls as the early race began, but I also saw that he began to steadily gain ground. I was amazed when he actually passed Clinton in some of the polls. Throughout this time, he continued with the same message, rarely flip-flopping as politician's tend to do. He stumbled and gaffed as the campaign wore on, but he benefited from the fact that this election season started so early. He was able to make mistakes and had time to repair the damage. His message appealed to a Reagan conservative like me. His liberal social policies leave me scratching my head, but after the last 16 years of unbelievable divisiveness and partisan sabotage that has gone on, his message of unity is refreshing. I do not agree with a lot of the things that he has to say, many of them go against my nature and world view. The fact that his last name is not Bush or Clinton is refreshing. When I had the chance to go see him speak today, I simply couldn't come up with a good enough reason not to go.
There is one thing you should know about me. I am a politician's worst nightmare. I think for myself. I listen to what they say, but I also listen to what they don't say. I was just as interested in what he wasn't going to say as to what he would speak about. With some trepidation, I went. We got in Roosevelt High School gym at around 10:00. We were there early enough to get a fantastic spot, directly in front of the dais about 15 feet away. After some preparatory speeches from local dignitaries and Obama staffers, and a medley of patriotic songs by a Roosevelt alumnus who really needed to rehearse the words to "America the Beautiful", Michelle Obama took the stage to introduce her husband. Barak came out with their two young daughters, who looked like they would rather have been in bed than on a stage in Des Moines, IA. It was actually a very touching scene without a hint of "photo-op-ishness" to it. Barak introduced the organizers for his Des Moines effort, and then got into the meat of what he had to say. There were many things that we have all heard in his commercials, the generalized statements that all politicians make about what they are going to do without revealing anything about how they will do it. (If you are not familiar with what Iowa is like when the caucuses are going on, you have no idea the number of commercials, phone calls, ads, and constant politicking that goes on. As I have been writing this, no less than 15 commercials have been on the television. It is truly an amazing, annoying thing to be an Iowan during a presidential election year.) There was the obligatory bashing of Bush, but not to excess. There was mention of the Republican candidates, but only that he was able to beat all of them in the polling numbers. No mention of his Democratic rivals, which was surprising. His message was presented with the cadence of a Southern Baptist minister, very pleasing to the ear, allowing you to understand what was most important by the patterns of his speech.
The message that struck me most was not so much the words that he spoke but the passion with which he spoke them. The other candidates seem polished, but almost as if they are reading rather than believing. I did not have the "epiphany" that Barak spoke of, and I am not sure whether or not he is the man this country needs, but his message of unity and ending the polarization that has crippled this nation for the last 16 years certainly struck a chord with me.During his speech, he asked everyone who is going to caucus to raise their hands. Then he asked if you were NOT sure you were going to caucus for him to raise your hand. My hand was one of few that I saw. When he finished speaking and we prepared to leave, no less than five of his supporters came to me and asked me if I had changed my mind. We spoke of a lot of things, and I was pleased that I was not bludgeoned with propaganda, but I was actually listened to. His supporters are definitely committed and believe in him, but they do not have the shrillness that I have seen from both Republican and Democrat candidate supporters.
I was glad I went. Am I going to vote for Barak Obama for president? I don't know. I still hold out hope that the Republicans will get their collective shit together and a candidate will emerge, but that hope is waning for me. I joked that a Republican supporting a Democrat is like choosing which poison will taste the best, and in some respects it is exactly that. Obama appeals to me as a human being, as well as a man who has the "It" factor for being a President. He acts presidential, sounds presidential, and if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... It is possible that in November this country will be celebrating the election of our first African-American president. It is equally possible that we won't. If he is elected, I will be glad that I went, and was an eyewitness to history.
No comments:
Post a Comment