I’ve been careful not to comment on the presidential primaries currently underway because, although I have had a favorite candidate for some time, I just wasn’t sure he was going to be able to pull it off. Tonight, I’m feeling a little more sure.
Barack Obama made a believer out of me not when he won in Iowa, but today when he won by 28 points in the South Carolina primary. Yes, he’s young, yes, he’s a first-term senator with less experience than some, but here are a few quotes that illustrate why I’m a believer (from his speech this evening in South Carolina, as reported on Salon.com):
“We are looking for more than just a change of party in the White House. We’re looking to fundamentally change the status quo in Washington. It’s a status quo that extends beyond any particular party, and right now that status quo is fighting back with everything it’s got, with the same old tactics that divide and distract us from solving the problems people face.”
“…while we breathe, we will hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words: ‘Yes, we can.’”
Full text of his speech can be found online courtesy of cnn.com.
It’s been a long time since I’ve had reason to feel hopeful about the potential for change in the government. I take that back, this is perhaps the first time in my lifetime where we have an opportunity as voters and Americans to make history. Not just in electing a young, African American president, but in electing someone who is actually interested in involving the American public in the political process, in healing the wounds of the past, um, 20 years of hateful partisan politics.
It’s a tall order, and we’ve got a long year (slightly less than) ahead of us, but Obama, tonight you made a believer of me!
1 comment
Corrina says:
January 31, 2008 at 6:50 pm (UTC 2 )
Me, too! Me, too!