November 2, 2008 was an amazing, emotional and unforgettable ride for this country and the world. From Barack Obama's lead in the afternoon polling hours to his mesmerizing yet somber acceptance speech, I couldn’t keep my eyes off all the media news stations until I forced myself to walk away at 1:00am. The buzz continued the next morning from Honolulu , Jakarta, Japan, Kenya and the White House. Obama's transformation reads like a rags to riches, Rocky story: growing up with a single parent to becoming the first African American president of Harvard Review, then his quick rise to Senator, to his historic win for the most powerful seat in the country - is a true testament of adversity in the making. Even if you don’t agree with his policies you can’t help but be in awe of his struggle, hope and determination to make it to the mountaintop while staying cool.
I’ve never heard of Barack Obama until I saw him speak on national television at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Most convention speeches have the same template of how their next candidat will help the people and fix this and that. Blah, blah, blah says the broken record. President Bill Clinton was the last President of my Generation X that woke up young voters and gave a glimmer of hope and promise until Obama's national television debut. He preached "hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!” Who was this guy who capitvated the predominately white delegation to scream his name and jump up and down like he was the next American Idol?
Obama continued to bring that message home four years later, which one was of the key factors that helped him win the election. He flipped the script and re-wrote Campaigning for Dummies. He reached out to voters spanning generations from various socio-ethnic-economic demographics and erased decades stained red party lines. Imagine 150 years ago, instead of sweeping electoral votes in Virginia and Florida , Obama would be sweeping his master’s floors. So hard to believe. Two years after announcing his candidacy, Obama and his family will step onto the floors of their new home, the White House.
The campaign trail has been a roller coaster ride of surprises. Hillary Clinton was supposed to clinch the Democratic ticket and eventually the Presidential seat. But that didn’t stop the junior senator. He surprised political pundits at the Primaries, continued to blaze forward as he coolly fettered off McCain and Palin’s wide sweeping attacks on his short political tenure, foreign policy and economic inexperience and terrorist affiliation to mocking his grassroots community organizing resume. It’s ironic has it was exactly his community experience that enabled him to successfully reach out to people house by house but to also financially contribute whatever $5 they had left in their pockets.
He also successfully transcended his community experience onto the internet and mobile space. McCain's campaign strategy focused on the baby boomer and older demographic the old fashioned way. Obama targeted and mobilized the 18-30 registered and unregistered and he knew how to reach them. His viral campaign spread so quickly that McCain couldn’t twitter or blog fast enough to catch up with Obama's rising tsunami. Result = McCain’s total wipeout. McCain just couldn't get with the program.
It was New Year ’s Day as crowds of jubilant faces across the globe praised the news of America’s 44th and first African American President. The candid television shot of Jesse Jackson’s very emotional tears as he stood waiting among the 125,000+ supporters at Grand Park in Chicago was very telling of the decades of struggle of many civil rights leaders who fought for the road of equality including Jackson’s defeats when he ran for Democratic Presidency in 1984 and 1988.
Obama's win touched the new generation as well, such as the 16 year old African American girl who watched history unfold with a group of other young minority adults. They gathered at a recreational center in Richmond, California, an inner Bay Area suburb of predominately African American and Latino poor residents, a city that has one of the highest crime rates in the Bay Area. For years, the community has been plagued with senseless drive by shootings and unsolved murders but that didn't matter. A flood of tears flowed down her face. She said it gives her hope that anything is possible even for her. Although too young to vote, she was excited to be an American. As I dried my eyes watching inspiration fill her heart, an 18 year old African American man boasted this was his first time to vote and was proud that he made a positive difference for the country.
America informally knighted the first family at Chicago's Grand Park. An African American man, woman and their two daughters greeted the world with grace and dignity. I sure wish I was there to take pictures of that historic entrance. No other Presidential candidate has moved the world as this man. Obama’s “audacity of hope”, Jesse Jackson’s “keep hope alive” and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” will hopefully keep Obama strong and steadfast for the long, bumpy and uncharted road ahead. Yes he can.
Sidenote: Wonder what Marsha Brady's, uhhh, I mean, Sarah Palin's future plans? Become a regular on SNL, the View, or ???
I’ve never heard of Barack Obama until I saw him speak on national television at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Most convention speeches have the same template of how their next candidat will help the people and fix this and that. Blah, blah, blah says the broken record. President Bill Clinton was the last President of my Generation X that woke up young voters and gave a glimmer of hope and promise until Obama's national television debut. He preached "hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!” Who was this guy who capitvated the predominately white delegation to scream his name and jump up and down like he was the next American Idol?
Obama continued to bring that message home four years later, which one was of the key factors that helped him win the election. He flipped the script and re-wrote Campaigning for Dummies. He reached out to voters spanning generations from various socio-ethnic-economic demographics and erased decades stained red party lines. Imagine 150 years ago, instead of sweeping electoral votes in Virginia and Florida , Obama would be sweeping his master’s floors. So hard to believe. Two years after announcing his candidacy, Obama and his family will step onto the floors of their new home, the White House.
The campaign trail has been a roller coaster ride of surprises. Hillary Clinton was supposed to clinch the Democratic ticket and eventually the Presidential seat. But that didn’t stop the junior senator. He surprised political pundits at the Primaries, continued to blaze forward as he coolly fettered off McCain and Palin’s wide sweeping attacks on his short political tenure, foreign policy and economic inexperience and terrorist affiliation to mocking his grassroots community organizing resume. It’s ironic has it was exactly his community experience that enabled him to successfully reach out to people house by house but to also financially contribute whatever $5 they had left in their pockets.
He also successfully transcended his community experience onto the internet and mobile space. McCain's campaign strategy focused on the baby boomer and older demographic the old fashioned way. Obama targeted and mobilized the 18-30 registered and unregistered and he knew how to reach them. His viral campaign spread so quickly that McCain couldn’t twitter or blog fast enough to catch up with Obama's rising tsunami. Result = McCain’s total wipeout. McCain just couldn't get with the program.
It was New Year ’s Day as crowds of jubilant faces across the globe praised the news of America’s 44th and first African American President. The candid television shot of Jesse Jackson’s very emotional tears as he stood waiting among the 125,000+ supporters at Grand Park in Chicago was very telling of the decades of struggle of many civil rights leaders who fought for the road of equality including Jackson’s defeats when he ran for Democratic Presidency in 1984 and 1988.
Obama's win touched the new generation as well, such as the 16 year old African American girl who watched history unfold with a group of other young minority adults. They gathered at a recreational center in Richmond, California, an inner Bay Area suburb of predominately African American and Latino poor residents, a city that has one of the highest crime rates in the Bay Area. For years, the community has been plagued with senseless drive by shootings and unsolved murders but that didn't matter. A flood of tears flowed down her face. She said it gives her hope that anything is possible even for her. Although too young to vote, she was excited to be an American. As I dried my eyes watching inspiration fill her heart, an 18 year old African American man boasted this was his first time to vote and was proud that he made a positive difference for the country.
America informally knighted the first family at Chicago's Grand Park. An African American man, woman and their two daughters greeted the world with grace and dignity. I sure wish I was there to take pictures of that historic entrance. No other Presidential candidate has moved the world as this man. Obama’s “audacity of hope”, Jesse Jackson’s “keep hope alive” and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” will hopefully keep Obama strong and steadfast for the long, bumpy and uncharted road ahead. Yes he can.
Sidenote: Wonder what Marsha Brady's, uhhh, I mean, Sarah Palin's future plans? Become a regular on SNL, the View, or ???
Comments
You may find this page interesting: it has, among other things, excerpts from publications like Newsweek and the New York Times, and videos with over 25 top pundits, all talking specifically about Obama's identity as a GenJoneser:
http://www.generationjones.com/2008election.html
However you cut the generation pies, it’s refreshing to know that the election brought generations together, of how young adults called their parents to proudly say they voted. Comedian/actress Whoopi Goldberg said she was surprised and ecstatic when her daughter and granddaughter called her. Actor Dennis Hopper has two teenage kids and was amazed when they told him the good news. Stock show host, Jim Cramer said it perfectly that the voting process is bringing parents and their children together transcending beyond the “how was school” or “did you finish homework” routine conversations. You have Boomers, Generation Jones, X and Y excited in making history. I believe it will start a shift or rebirth of national pride. And just when they thought they’ve seen it all, the Greatest Generation (1901-1924) couldn’t sit on this election. 106 year old Ann Cooper, which Obama praised during his November 2 speech, could barely walk but she took a stand at the polling booth.