3 posts from January 2007

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream

You have been waiting and wondering.  Well....Today, THIS happened.

As you may know, over the last few months I have been thinking hard about my plans for 2008. Running for the presidency is a profound decision - a decision no one should make on the basis of media hype or personal ambition alone - and so before I committed myself and my family to this race, I wanted to be sure that this was right for us and, more importantly, right for the country.

I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position a year ago. But as I've spoken to many of you in my travels across the states these past months; as I've read your emails and read your letters; I've been struck by how hungry we all are for a different kind of politics.

So I've spent some time thinking about how I could best advance the cause of change and progress that we so desperately need.

The decisions that have been made in Washington these past six years, and the problems that have been ignored, have put our country in a precarious place. Our economy is changing rapidly, and that means profound changes for working people. Many of you have shared with me your stories about skyrocketing health care bills, the pensions you've lost and your struggles to pay for college for your kids. Our continued dependence on oil has put our security and our very planet at risk. And we're still mired in a tragic and costly war that should have never been waged.

But challenging as they are, it's not the magnitude of our problems that concerns me the most. It's the smallness of our politics. America's faced big problems before. But today, our leaders in Washington seem incapable of working together in a practical, common sense way. Politics has become so bitter and partisan, so gummed up by money and influence, that we can't tackle the big problems that demand solutions.

And that's what we have to change first.

We have to change our politics, and come together around our common interests and concerns as Americans.

This won't happen by itself. A change in our politics can only come from you; from people across our country who believe there's a better way and are willing to work for it.

Years ago, as a community organizer in Chicago, I learned that meaningful change always begins at the grassroots, and that engaged citizens working together can accomplish extraordinary things.

So even in the midst of the enormous challenges we face today, I have great faith and hope about the future - because I believe in you.

And that's why I wanted to tell you first that I'll be filing papers today to create a presidential exploratory committee. For the next several weeks, I am going to talk with people from around the country, listening and learning more about the challenges we face as a nation, the opportunities that lie before us, and the role that a presidential campaign might play in bringing our country together. And on February 10th, at the end of these decisions and in my home state of Illinois, I'll share my plans with my friends, neighbors and fellow Americans.

In the meantime, I want to thank all of you for your time, your suggestions, your encouragement and your prayers. And I look forward to continuing our conversation in the weeks and months to come.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senator Barack Obama

Now, let us marinate on what this truly means. 

Here we have a black man man with a white mother and a Kenyan father, born in Hawaii, with a somewhat checkered past who rose through Columbia College and Harvard University Law School and the Illinois State Assembly to the United States Senate and now stands on the brink of history.

Blah blah blah.  but what does it MEAN, REALLY?

Well it means this:

For the first time in history, A man of color is positioned as a front runner for the office of president of the United States.  And he has formed a committee to explore that possibility. 

More Blah Blah Blah...You aint sayin nothing to me....Give me something.  You go through all these changes to "Free" yourself and now you give me spin.....CTB....What does this MEAN?

OK.

This means everyone out of the pool...the shark is coming.  I am sure you have heard the following:

"we don't know anything about him"

"He doesn't have the experience"

"He can't win because he is Black"

"He Can't Beat Hillary"

"His middle name is Hussein"

"They won't let him win"

Let me address these in turn.

We don't know anything about him -  If you don't know about Barack Obama, you don't WANNA know about him.  He has TWO books that have been NY Times best sellers.  One is a fairly in-depth memoir that covers his background.   One is a wonkish sort that alludes to building a better America.  The man has a microphone constantly stuck in his face and is pretty much the go-to man for thoughtful progressive (liberal, for those of you who get off on such terms).  Trust and believe, if the man wasn't the real deal, he wouldn't be getting this kind of push.  Today, Chris Matthews said that, as a writer, he believes that if you cannot express your thoughts on paper, you cannot think.  He went on to say that Barack Obama is one of the most formidable writers of this political generation.  What Senator Obama says, comes from HIS pen.  That speaks volumes, to me.

"He doesn't have the experience" - Experience is overrated.  Nor does Experience get you elected.  This isn't carpentry.  This is government.  To be honest, the more you govern, the more inept you become. 

Government tends to be a vacuum.  The longer you are in government, the more detached from reality you become. You lose your edge.   You lose touch with reality.  You end up doing less leading and representing of people and more...governing.  You have hearings, you hold press conferences, you go on TV, you compromise, you cease to be a representative and go to playing one on TV. 

Barack Obama has been in the US Senate for 3 years. Before that he taught Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago. That is long enough to get a decent grasp on the practice of Government to go along with the formidable academic understanding of Government he already has. 

"He can't win because he is Black" - People will say that until it happens.  They said that about Mayor of Chicago, and Mayor of Philadelphia, and Mayor of New York, and Governor of Massachusetts.  That isn't really an explanation.  It just hasn't happened, YET.

"He Can't Beat Hillary" - This is a more useful argument than he cannot win because he is Black.  Hillary is the front runner because she is viewed as inevitable and unbeatable.  She is neither.  Hillary is polarizing in ways that confound the imagination, even in her OWN party.  Additionally there is a certain sense of fear that Hillary, because of her polarizing nature, can't win the general election on her own terms anyway.  In terms of qualifications, even with the additional 3 years in the Senate and 8 years as first lady, I view them as equally qualified, exchanging the whole real life thing for the 20+ years of government life that she has been living. 

His middle name is Hussein - Stop.  Just Stop.  If you really think that is an issue, all the rest of this is pretty much irrelevant

"They won't let him win" - who is this THEY?  If the PEOPLE want him, they will have him.  Will the fight from the GOP be any different than if Hillary wins?  Any different than last time with Kerry?  I didn't think so. 

One thing nags at me.  If Senator Obama is truly about change, the Secret Service better get on it's game.

And that is NOT a joke.

Freedom is a road seldom travelled by the multitude.  -Fredrick Douglass

I am a pen with no hand attached.

A series of quotes with no attribution.

Once upon a time I ran the web with my identity in full bloom.  Anyone who wanted to know about me knew all about me.  I blogged and blogged to my hearts content.  I talked about my family, about my friends, where I come from, where I live currently.  I thought I was free.  I  viewed transparency as freedom.

But that would make Frederick Douglass a liar.

Freedom is speaking your heart without fear.  I look back on the 25,000 words that I wrote over the past 18 months and I saw the editing.  I saw a man who chose his words carefully.

On this day, January 15, 2007, the 21st celebration of Matin Luther King Day in the United States,

I emerge from my cocoon protected by a thin veil of anonymity.

That is more for those around me than for me.

I emerge from my cocoon matured in the need and purpose of  my position.

I am unafraid.

I am unencumbered.

I am free.

Today is not the first day of the rest of my life.

TODAY  is the first day of my LIFE