One of President Obama’s best speeches

I am not a woman of few words. I usually have a lot to say but for the past few months I’ve been silent uncharacteristically so I know.. well tonight I’m breaking my silence (I’ll reveal more of why I have been so silent in later posts) to say that earlier this evening, in Tucson Arizona President Barack  Obama gave one of the best speeches of his entire presidency.

Obama’s speech didn’t just succeed because it eloquently articulated what most of us have been feeling about the tragedy in Arizona, it succeeded because it reminded us of why we fell in love and voted for him in the first place-it gave us HOPE. HOPE that tomorrow, our collective tomorrow, will be better that any individual yesterday. He made the six individuals that lost their lives whole again in our minds if only for a few minutes. And in that speech he did something that only a president, a great leader, can do he unified our hopes and aspirations and told us what the future can really look like if we gave the best of ourselves, even when we disagree on how to get there,  in celebration of the lives that were so horrifically snatched away from us.

This tragedy doesn’t just  hit close to home for me it comes pretty darn close to breaking  my heart. You see, I live in Arizona. I too can remember going to my first political meeting as a little girl and I too was a member of my student council.  Bushy tailed and bright eyed my love affair with politics has lasted ever since. I can also see members of my own family reflected in all the lives that were lost in Tucson just a few days ago.  The grandmother, the leader, the communicator, the hero, the sweethearts. Leadership, compassion, love, warmth and dedication. The best of who we are as a state, a country, a people, a species was at that meeting last Saturday, January 8th, 2011 I hope that as nation, as we heal and the events of that day grow dim that we never forget that.

*UPDATE*  Here’s a sample of what others are saying about Obama’s Tucson memorial speech.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie thought the speech was ‘excellent’.

According to some even the mighty FOX news was ‘pretty gaga’ over the president’s speech.

And Marc Thiessen over at  The Washington Post’s PostPartisan thought Obama’s memorial speech was brilliant and courageous.

A change has finally come to American politics..

He did it!   

 

They did it!  

 

We did it!! 

The Democratic Party’s Presidential nomination is ours and the next step is the presidency of the United States of America ..THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGING!!!

Did Barack get a new suit?

Hmm..I’m watching Obama on MSNBC right now talking to families in Las Vegas and he’s wearing this oatmeal colored suit, he looks good of course but I’ve never seem him wearing anything other than black or blue before did Michelle finally buy him a new suit? lol.

Check out the video it’s so nice to see him wearing something other than black or blue….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama quashed fear and raised hope, once again, for all Americans..

Once again, Barack Obama has left me struggling for words..

In his intensely personal and moving speech in Philadelphia. I saw glimpses of my own life. With white and black family members and a white husband I too have often been intimately exposed to what one group ‘really thinks’ about the other especially when members of that group thinks the setting is ‘safe’ to discuss race without ridicule or prejudice.

Today in his speech Obama gave voice to almost every grievance whites and blacks have had with each other since the end of slavery. And he talked about these issues without vigorously wagging the finger at either group. He said racism isn’t dead but it shouldn’t and doesn’t have to limit blacks like it once did. 

He talked about the ridiculous comments of Rev.Wright in one paragraph yet in another he talked about his loyalty to the man, his work, the service and general goodness of the man Jeremiah Wright.

He talked about welfare and affirmative action and the grievances white America, in particular those in the middle class and low income white community have in regards to those two issues.

He talked about the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws and its lasting impact on the black community.

He talked about confronting our past demons in order to face the ones that are upon us today and will undoubtedly arise tomorrow.

He talked about our common hopes and dreams for the future and about working together to achieve a long lasting impact on our community, on our nation and on the world.

He talked with eloquence, grace, humility and strength.

He talked about what has shaped our current and what shouldn’t be allowed to shape our future.

He addressed every issue that has arisen since the Ferraro comment and Wright video and he did it without blame and without anger.

In so doing he has stimulated a productive discussion about race and class, that can now begin around the watercoolers and dinner tables of America. And hopefully from these conversations minds and hearts will change, solutions and productive plans will be advanced to not only confront the lasting legacy of racism but also our common ills including poverty and unaffordable medicine and medical coverage.

And hopefully by talking frankly and calmly about race we can slowly march towards an America that truly embraces the candidacy of Barack Obama thus making sure that in the future the issue of race will no longer be a cause of trepidation among any significant group of Americans. 

Obama has shown that he CAN and WILL lead this movement this coalition of unlikely allies towards a new America where all people and all stories can retain their uniqueness but yet at the same time remain grounded in the commonality of our pursuit and fulfillment of the American dream.

Obama wins South Carolina; Hillary loses but wins the nomination but at what cost?

The Clintons have utilised and continue to use racial and ethnic politics to win the democratic nomination causing white supporters to abandon Obama due to their presumed concerns about electability. And the black guy who once garnered headlines in the Wall Street Journal as the Whites’ Hope is now being spurned and marginalised by white voters.

Tonight the Clintons will lose South Carolina but I’m sure that Hillary will be the clear democratic nominee come February 5th based on this specific strategy as explained by Dick Morris. A blogger friend, Robin, sent me the link and I couldn’t have articulated it any better than Mr.Morris. However, this strategy and by extension Hillary’s nomination will come at a cost.

Here are just a few of the possible consequences I foresee because of all the Clinton induced racial drama…

Lower turnout among Democrats but higher among Republicans because of their ‘hatred’ of Hillary Clinton come November 4th thus leading to a John Mccain presidency, another pro ‘war’ Republican in the White House and another humiliating defeat for the Democrats. 

More alienation of blacks and in particular YOUNG blacks from the political process and by extension the Democratic party.

I don’t think young black people will run head first into the Republican party but I would be willing to say this, if they were a fully functioning, viable, powerful third party like the European Green Party, that party would be getting first, second and third looks right about now and their enrollment rolls would be up considerably due to the massive influx of  young, liberal-minded, black people like myself as well as all of those people who are just sick and fed up with the establishment in the Democratic party.

Racial politics and marginalisation often come at a high price and I would dare to say that irreparable damage may once again have been done to the democratic party because of this and if I were a Republican election strategists  I would be looking on with glee and I would be actively seeking to capitalise on the strained relationship that will now develop between young (those under 40) blacks and the democratic party and the continued friction between Blacks and Hispanics. 

Believe me I haven’t lost complete faith in Obama or the prospect of him being the first black president but I’m a realist I can see the writing on the wall based on the polling stats. Yes, I know the polls have been wrong on a couple of occasions this political season but the Clintons haven’t stopped their racial attacks, the attacks have just become more coded and quiet.

Obama is critically wounded and I don’t foresee a recovery between now and February 5th unless he can show that white voters in South Carolina would vote for him in November.

Obama brought hope and it was extinguished by the Clintons maybe, just maybe it wouldn’t be forever..