Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Inspired By A Presidential Candidate for the First Time in My Life

It is no secret that I have been a long-time supporter of Barack Obama. I am inspired by his eloquence, and his unexpected commitment to doing things differently (the first time I went to a volunteer meeting the first thing they told us is NEVER say anything bad about the other candidates....only good things about Barack).

However, even I was amazed and impressed by his speech yesterday. There will always be those who will say this is not enough, or it was a political ploy. However, he wrote this speech by himself, and clearly spoke from his heart - a rarity in American politics. It is my hope that America is ready for a person who actually speaks in the nuance that is the reality of the world, as opposed to being overly concerned by the sound bite do or die.

I am for the first time in my life truly inspired to step beyond myself and commit to a cause on a National level. Those who know me out there know I am quite a cynic, so may be surprised to learn that I plan on going up to Pennsylvania and dedicating whatever time the Obama campaign needs to win the primary there. I am proud to support a candidate who supports a majority of my policy priorities...and who steps beyond the traditional nasty poll-driven politics and says what he thinks and believes.

I suggest everyone listen to the speech in its entirety. Though it is 40 minutes long, no speech on race issues in America should be any shorter, and I believe this one is truly a landmark in American politics.

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