Yes.

During Barack Obama’s victory speech on November 4th 2008, he said something to the effect of:  “I was never the likeliest candidate for this office.”  To me that says a lot about the America that (hopefully) we’re leaving behind.   That a brilliant, hardworking, capable, and conscientious person such as Obama would ever be considered an ‘unlikely candidate’ is staggeringly gross.   That said, I don’t suffer from the delusion that members of the opposition like to imply that us Obama-supporters have.  I don’t think he’s ‘the Messiah’.  But I do think he’s the right man for this very nuanced and difficult position (that has been treated both like a joke and an entitlement the past eight years). 

You know what gets me more upset than the lameness of George Wetodd Bush?  That people voted for his ass.  Twice!   I hold these people every bit as accountable as I hold W and his cabinet for the disaster they’ve made of this world.   I didn’t even want to get into Bush (because he boils my blood and today is supposed to be a celebration), but  I couldn’t help it.  He’ll go down in history as our Nero.   As for Dick Cheney, I’ll just say that  he lived up to his first name.

The whole election (especially from the point of the RNC) got on my damned nerves, but mostly the part that ridiculed Obama’s message of Hope.  Hope is no joke, my friends (yes, I had to slap McCain one last time)!   A while ago I had a philosphy professor who once suggested that we stop asking ourselves this question:  ”Why do I exist?” and start asking ourselves this one:  “Why is it that I haven’t killed myself?”   

I think he was just getting at the fact that life was not perfect (in fact, far from it), but that we all must carry some vestige of hope in our souls that things would improve.  That life was worth living  so long as the idea of hope remained in one’s heart.

It’s nice that our new president has a soul and a heart.  

In a few short hours, Obama will be sworn (in as the 44th President of the United States.   That’s huge.      

A few years ago my older sister taught at a private elementary school  in Oakland.  The kids (who were primarily black) were learning about the presidents, and one of them, as they looked up at all of the portraits of the past and current presidents, asked her why it was that there were no brown presidents up their on the wall.    

An uncomfortable question, no?   I think it’s wonderful that questions of this sort won’t have to be asked anymore.   At the time, however,  I have  to admit that I suspected questions of this nature would be around forever.

This is not to make a racial matter tidy or simple, because it isn’t.  This country didn’t magically become some utopia overnight on November 4th and it won’t happen today either.  But for a segment of the population that  has been sort of conditioned to feel “less than”, this is a pretty powerful day. 

My grandmother (who sadly died last year)  was routinely subjected to bogus tests to see if she was ‘fit’ for voting.  My parents grew up in New Orleans in the 1960s and my father was usually called those usual words. 

There was one notable occasion where he and his cousin went to a restaurant for lunch and were told by the staff that they couldn’t eat there because that particular establishment ”didn’t serve ‘niggers’.”   “That’s fine,” said my dad’s cousin.  “Because we don’t eat them.”

I always thought that was funny.  Tragic and funny.

Whatever.   Today America, for all intents and purposes, changes a little bit.   It must suck to be one of those people who didn’t play a part in this, but could have. 

I meant to do a post when the proceedings started, but I sort of couldn’t sleep and felt like writing.  It’s an historic day, yo!    Pardon my emotions and all that;  I babble too much when my heart-strings are being pulled.   So I’m signing off for now (will be back later when festivities start).  

 

 

I found some Obama quotes, they’re pretty hot: 

“It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get to where we are today, but we have just begun. Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today.”

“The fact that my 15 minutes of fame has extended a little longer than 15 minutes is somewhat surprising to me and completely baffling to my wife.”

“There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.”
 
“There is not a liberal America and a conservative America – there is the United States of America. There is not a black America and a white America and latino America and asian America – there’s the United States of America.”

“We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times… and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK. That’s not leadership. That’s not going to happen.”

“We need to internalize this idea of excellence. Not many folks spend a lot of time trying to be excellent.”

“We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in nice apartments but don’t want to work hard to accomplish these things. Everyone should try to realize their full potential.”

“With the changing economy, no one has lifetime employment. But community colleges provide lifetime employability.”

“Issues are never simple. One thing I’m proud of is that very rarely will you hear me simplify the issues.”

“In the end, that’s what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism or a politics of hope?”

And here’s a video of Obama addressing the nation after he beat John McCain’s ass in November.