Sometimes, the optimists win
Sometime ago, when I was working at Y in California, I had the good fortune of working with an eclectic and superb group of friends. The group worked closely and met every day for lunch. Lunch discussions were wide ranging usually involving the world, politics, algorithms and stock predictions.
We had a staunch capitalist, having his share of stories of the Soviet Union and the California experience. Another was the detail oriented superman, tracking the betting performance of the group and arguing for benevolent dictators. A third was into managing corporate relationships and was the window into the advertising world. Another is the subject of this particular post - a product manager who was widely read and wise, kick ass technically and a joy to work with. He was also someone I leaned on to understand the "American" perspective.
So, in 2004, when talking about the Democratic convention, I asked him what he thought of the chances of an unknown senator from Illinois who'd given an impressive speech. I'd casually thought that it would be interesting to for example, imagine Hillary running in 2008. For someone so positive and upbeat, he turned around and said something that surprised me. He was rather convinced that it would be many more years before either a minority or woman candidate would be viable. In his words, America was far more conservative and not yet ready for such large steps. His point was that North Carolina was, for example, not the Bay Area in terms of cultural assimilation and awareness. I was rather naively more optimistic about inclusiveness. (admittedly, I'd traveled very little through the country at that point). We ended that conversation inconclusively.
All throughout the presidential campaign, when I would think of the possibility of an Obama victory, my mind would go back to his words. So, on November 4th when the news channels are declaring an Obama victory I'm reminded of that conversation. I wish I'd setup a bet. North Carolina for example, is leaning for Obama. T, you owe me.... this is one of those bets for lunch that I know you are glad to lose.
Sometimes, the optimists win.
We had a staunch capitalist, having his share of stories of the Soviet Union and the California experience. Another was the detail oriented superman, tracking the betting performance of the group and arguing for benevolent dictators. A third was into managing corporate relationships and was the window into the advertising world. Another is the subject of this particular post - a product manager who was widely read and wise, kick ass technically and a joy to work with. He was also someone I leaned on to understand the "American" perspective.
So, in 2004, when talking about the Democratic convention, I asked him what he thought of the chances of an unknown senator from Illinois who'd given an impressive speech. I'd casually thought that it would be interesting to for example, imagine Hillary running in 2008. For someone so positive and upbeat, he turned around and said something that surprised me. He was rather convinced that it would be many more years before either a minority or woman candidate would be viable. In his words, America was far more conservative and not yet ready for such large steps. His point was that North Carolina was, for example, not the Bay Area in terms of cultural assimilation and awareness. I was rather naively more optimistic about inclusiveness. (admittedly, I'd traveled very little through the country at that point). We ended that conversation inconclusively.
All throughout the presidential campaign, when I would think of the possibility of an Obama victory, my mind would go back to his words. So, on November 4th when the news channels are declaring an Obama victory I'm reminded of that conversation. I wish I'd setup a bet. North Carolina for example, is leaning for Obama. T, you owe me.... this is one of those bets for lunch that I know you are glad to lose.
Sometimes, the optimists win.