More Obama
Quick note: I still haven't had a chance to sit down and watch last week's Atlantis. Tomorrow, I hope.
I'm sorry if everyone is sick of me talking about politics, but that's probably going to be a constant for about the next week and then again from say September-November. In between it will probably slow to a trickle, but not completely stop until sometime after the election in November. I am however going to try to remember that LJ-cuts are my friend (and more importantly, the friend of the Flist).
First thing's first. I got to see Obama today. That story is
Barack Obama was reasonably close to Topeka twice today. First he was in ElDorado (an appearance that I watched on television), where he received Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' official endorsement. Just about the time that was wrapping up, I was headed across town to get on a bus going to Kansas City. We arrived shortly before 4 PM. The event was scheduled to start at 5:45 PM. First, I should mention that our bus got stuck in the snow about 2 blocks from the Municipal Auditorium. A bunch of us got out and walked, and I'm glad we did. The doors had opened at 3:45 PM, and we were already the second group to completely feel the main entry. It was a madhouse. I've never been pressed up this close to complete strangers, not even at the Orgy & Sugar Ray concert I went to in college, which I thought was altogether too close for people I did not know. I literally had people pressed against all sides of me (and as a side note that meant I spent most of this time untangling my hair from various people's buttons, zippers, purse straps, and other highly obnoxious places. It's definitely time to get it cut again.
We were there in the entry for almost 45 minutes, moving ever so slowly toward a staircase, and what we thought was entry to the event. I'd managed, barely, to stay with two other women from our bus. We were told that we would go downstairs and to the left through a door where we'd go through security and then on into the auditorium. Sounded easy enough, but it wasn't that easy at all. We went downstairs and through that door. We proceeded to walk the entire length of the building and out the other side into the parking garage. There, we walked the entire length of the parking garage to get to the end of the security line and begin the long trek back from where we had just come. Security was much easier than I had anticipated. The Kansas City Police Department herded us all through metal detectors and made a cursory inspection of our handbags (mine took a couple of minutes because I have way too many pockets in it) and sent us on through. So about an hour later, we finally reached the auditorium, only to find that there was not a single seat remaining in the bleachers. I would have been fine with standing, but the two women I was with were both older; one had a bad hip. It took another 30 minutes to secure a chair for her to use. Luckily, Obama was not there at 5:45. We were being treated to a KC Marching band's drum line. They were quite good, but I don't think as good as Topeka High which has the best high school drum line I have ever seen. Those kids should all get scholarships for University of Nebraska for their drumline (#1 in the nation).
All of the walking and waiting and crush of people was worth it. I knew that, really from the first speaker, my very own Governor, Kathleen Sebelius. She reiterated her heartfelt endorsement of Obama as someone who inspires change, inspires the people to bring that change about, and makes us believe that our commonalities are stronger than our divisions. Senator Claire McCaskill spoke next, and while I don't know her or her politics as well she definitely got the crowd fired up. Then, in came Obama to the sound of U2's, City of Blinding Lights which seems to be the song he always enters to (if the three events I've watched in 2 days are anything to go by). I thought I knew what to expect. I've been to political rally's before. I've even seen presidential candidates in person before (John Kerry, 4 years ago), but I have never been a part of a crowd like this one or heard anyone speak like Barack Obama.
I've always considered myself quite political, and passionate about my politics. I care about the candidates and don't make any decision regarding them lightly. I make them win my vote. I've never had a candidate make me feel like I was a part of the process, like this meant more than an election, more than a single vote cast (or caucus line stood in), and even more than his win or loss. This was a movement, and in many ways, Barack Obama is only incidental to that movement. It is a movement for change, and not just change for the sake of change, but change to bring America back to the position of power and influence in the world, to reclaim the promises that each generation makes to the next, and to deny, once and for all, the politics of fear and division that have so plagued our nation. It's a movement, and it's one that every individual person in that room could be a part of. I'm used to championing lost causes. I'm a liberal Democrat in Kansas. I'm used to going out and voting and being involved because it's the right thing to do, because I feel like I must if I want to have room to criticize or praise the next president. I'm not used to feeling like I can actually make a difference, like the things I believe in can and will be heard.
That overwhelming message of hope, promise, and change permeates every word, but that doesn't mean that what he says is without substance. There was plenty of substance to this speech. He outlined plans and goals to us, and he didn't sugar coat them. The last seven years of incompetent and corrupt leadership have left us in a very difficult place. If we are ever going to dig ourselves out of the whole that George W. Bush has left us in, it will require sacrifice from all Americans, and he is asking us now to be willing to make those sacrifices. We can have Universal Health Care, but first, we must be willing to fight day in and day out against the special interest groups that serve the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. We can give every American who goes to college a $4000/year tax credit, if they in turn serve the most underprivileged among us. We can save Social Security if we are willing to tax every dollar of income rather than only the first $97,000. We can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and save the planet in the bargain if we are willing to demand of the automakers that they find solutions to increase fuel efficiency and develop new fuels, and if we are willing to curb our own out of control fuel expenditures. Barack Obama is not going to do things for us, he is going to help us to do things for America. We are going to make the change.
There were several people around me, who admitted to being undecided when we walked into the auditorium. When we left, every single person I spoke with was not only committed to seeing Obama become the Democratic Nominee, but truly believed that we had just been in the presence of the next President of the United States. It was a truly powerful experience, that I hope I have the opportunity to repeat some day.
One last note. I've grown up on stories of what the Kennedy's (John and Bobby mostly, but there was no lack of love for Ted in our household either) were like. They have always been held up to me as the epitome of what it means to be a patriot, a public servant, and an American. John and Bobby's ability to inspire people to believe in the possibility of change, of a better future that conventional wisdom said was impossible, is one of the things that gave them that position in my mother's heart. I'd always envied her for having anyone move her in that way. I thought that politics had changed forever, and the best I could hope for was someone I didn't actively dislike, someone who wouldn't get us into too much trouble. Today, I believe that I know what she felt like when she listened to the Kennedy's speak. Because he didn't just make me believe that he could win and keep the country from spiralling into some bottomless pit of war and loss, he made me believe that we can make the world a better place, that true systemic change is possible. He left the stage to Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder (again, this seems to be his customary music to exit on). I like the song choice, because it underscores something that Obama believes is fundamental to the office of president. A president is not a king and we are not his subjects. A president is a public servant. He is our subject. And so the song says, "Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours."
I should also say, that despite the long lines, my friends and I were some of the lucky ones. We packed the auditorium to what I'm certain is well-beyond it's 8000 person capacity (It's a wonder that the rally wasn't shut down by the fire department as several rallies of his have been), and there were still hundreds of people standing outside of the building because there was no more room. Senator Obama greeted them, and stood in the 12 degree (according to the news report I saw) for more than fifteen minutes giving an abbreviated version of the speech that he delivered inside.
First, here is video of Gov. Sebelius' endorsement of Obama in ElDorado today:
I'm hoping that there will be video of him speaking in Kansas City available tomorrow sometime, so you can probably expect at least one Obama post tomorrow.
And one last thing, there is a video of Senator Obama's response to last night's State of the Union address up at BarackObama.Com
I'm sorry if everyone is sick of me talking about politics, but that's probably going to be a constant for about the next week and then again from say September-November. In between it will probably slow to a trickle, but not completely stop until sometime after the election in November. I am however going to try to remember that LJ-cuts are my friend (and more importantly, the friend of the Flist).
First thing's first. I got to see Obama today. That story is
Barack Obama was reasonably close to Topeka twice today. First he was in ElDorado (an appearance that I watched on television), where he received Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' official endorsement. Just about the time that was wrapping up, I was headed across town to get on a bus going to Kansas City. We arrived shortly before 4 PM. The event was scheduled to start at 5:45 PM. First, I should mention that our bus got stuck in the snow about 2 blocks from the Municipal Auditorium. A bunch of us got out and walked, and I'm glad we did. The doors had opened at 3:45 PM, and we were already the second group to completely feel the main entry. It was a madhouse. I've never been pressed up this close to complete strangers, not even at the Orgy & Sugar Ray concert I went to in college, which I thought was altogether too close for people I did not know. I literally had people pressed against all sides of me (and as a side note that meant I spent most of this time untangling my hair from various people's buttons, zippers, purse straps, and other highly obnoxious places. It's definitely time to get it cut again.
We were there in the entry for almost 45 minutes, moving ever so slowly toward a staircase, and what we thought was entry to the event. I'd managed, barely, to stay with two other women from our bus. We were told that we would go downstairs and to the left through a door where we'd go through security and then on into the auditorium. Sounded easy enough, but it wasn't that easy at all. We went downstairs and through that door. We proceeded to walk the entire length of the building and out the other side into the parking garage. There, we walked the entire length of the parking garage to get to the end of the security line and begin the long trek back from where we had just come. Security was much easier than I had anticipated. The Kansas City Police Department herded us all through metal detectors and made a cursory inspection of our handbags (mine took a couple of minutes because I have way too many pockets in it) and sent us on through. So about an hour later, we finally reached the auditorium, only to find that there was not a single seat remaining in the bleachers. I would have been fine with standing, but the two women I was with were both older; one had a bad hip. It took another 30 minutes to secure a chair for her to use. Luckily, Obama was not there at 5:45. We were being treated to a KC Marching band's drum line. They were quite good, but I don't think as good as Topeka High which has the best high school drum line I have ever seen. Those kids should all get scholarships for University of Nebraska for their drumline (#1 in the nation).
All of the walking and waiting and crush of people was worth it. I knew that, really from the first speaker, my very own Governor, Kathleen Sebelius. She reiterated her heartfelt endorsement of Obama as someone who inspires change, inspires the people to bring that change about, and makes us believe that our commonalities are stronger than our divisions. Senator Claire McCaskill spoke next, and while I don't know her or her politics as well she definitely got the crowd fired up. Then, in came Obama to the sound of U2's, City of Blinding Lights which seems to be the song he always enters to (if the three events I've watched in 2 days are anything to go by). I thought I knew what to expect. I've been to political rally's before. I've even seen presidential candidates in person before (John Kerry, 4 years ago), but I have never been a part of a crowd like this one or heard anyone speak like Barack Obama.
I've always considered myself quite political, and passionate about my politics. I care about the candidates and don't make any decision regarding them lightly. I make them win my vote. I've never had a candidate make me feel like I was a part of the process, like this meant more than an election, more than a single vote cast (or caucus line stood in), and even more than his win or loss. This was a movement, and in many ways, Barack Obama is only incidental to that movement. It is a movement for change, and not just change for the sake of change, but change to bring America back to the position of power and influence in the world, to reclaim the promises that each generation makes to the next, and to deny, once and for all, the politics of fear and division that have so plagued our nation. It's a movement, and it's one that every individual person in that room could be a part of. I'm used to championing lost causes. I'm a liberal Democrat in Kansas. I'm used to going out and voting and being involved because it's the right thing to do, because I feel like I must if I want to have room to criticize or praise the next president. I'm not used to feeling like I can actually make a difference, like the things I believe in can and will be heard.
That overwhelming message of hope, promise, and change permeates every word, but that doesn't mean that what he says is without substance. There was plenty of substance to this speech. He outlined plans and goals to us, and he didn't sugar coat them. The last seven years of incompetent and corrupt leadership have left us in a very difficult place. If we are ever going to dig ourselves out of the whole that George W. Bush has left us in, it will require sacrifice from all Americans, and he is asking us now to be willing to make those sacrifices. We can have Universal Health Care, but first, we must be willing to fight day in and day out against the special interest groups that serve the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. We can give every American who goes to college a $4000/year tax credit, if they in turn serve the most underprivileged among us. We can save Social Security if we are willing to tax every dollar of income rather than only the first $97,000. We can reduce our dependence on foreign oil and save the planet in the bargain if we are willing to demand of the automakers that they find solutions to increase fuel efficiency and develop new fuels, and if we are willing to curb our own out of control fuel expenditures. Barack Obama is not going to do things for us, he is going to help us to do things for America. We are going to make the change.
There were several people around me, who admitted to being undecided when we walked into the auditorium. When we left, every single person I spoke with was not only committed to seeing Obama become the Democratic Nominee, but truly believed that we had just been in the presence of the next President of the United States. It was a truly powerful experience, that I hope I have the opportunity to repeat some day.
One last note. I've grown up on stories of what the Kennedy's (John and Bobby mostly, but there was no lack of love for Ted in our household either) were like. They have always been held up to me as the epitome of what it means to be a patriot, a public servant, and an American. John and Bobby's ability to inspire people to believe in the possibility of change, of a better future that conventional wisdom said was impossible, is one of the things that gave them that position in my mother's heart. I'd always envied her for having anyone move her in that way. I thought that politics had changed forever, and the best I could hope for was someone I didn't actively dislike, someone who wouldn't get us into too much trouble. Today, I believe that I know what she felt like when she listened to the Kennedy's speak. Because he didn't just make me believe that he could win and keep the country from spiralling into some bottomless pit of war and loss, he made me believe that we can make the world a better place, that true systemic change is possible. He left the stage to Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder (again, this seems to be his customary music to exit on). I like the song choice, because it underscores something that Obama believes is fundamental to the office of president. A president is not a king and we are not his subjects. A president is a public servant. He is our subject. And so the song says, "Signed, sealed, delivered, I'm yours."
I should also say, that despite the long lines, my friends and I were some of the lucky ones. We packed the auditorium to what I'm certain is well-beyond it's 8000 person capacity (It's a wonder that the rally wasn't shut down by the fire department as several rallies of his have been), and there were still hundreds of people standing outside of the building because there was no more room. Senator Obama greeted them, and stood in the 12 degree (according to the news report I saw) for more than fifteen minutes giving an abbreviated version of the speech that he delivered inside.
First, here is video of Gov. Sebelius' endorsement of Obama in ElDorado today:
Click to viewI'm hoping that there will be video of him speaking in Kansas City available tomorrow sometime, so you can probably expect at least one Obama post tomorrow.
And one last thing, there is a video of Senator Obama's response to last night's State of the Union address up at BarackObama.Com