Out of the Darkness and Into the Light
I cried several times during Michelle Obama’s speech last night to delegates at the Democratic National Convention and when the cameras panned the crowd I saw several other women wiping tears from their eyes as well.
I thought Mrs. Obama did a masterful job of telling her life story and providing a visual picture of the embodiment of the American dream. There’s so much about Michelle and Barack Obama’s lives that should resonate with the American public, Michelle’s father’s struggle with multiple sclerosis, her parents sacrifices to put both their children through college. Barack’s broken family and his mother’s battle to provide for her children as a single mother. I was especially touched by Michelle Obama’s description of her husband’s reaction to the arrival of their first child, “He’s the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail’s pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he’d struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father’s love.” That story should be relatable to every parent in America, especially those who didn’t grow up in a two parent household.
By opening up a window on her life and speaking so warmly, I hope that last night’s speech will soften the hearts and minds of those educated voters who have been taken in by bigoted rumors about the couple’s faith and their activism. Michelle and Barack Obama both came up the hard way but were surrounded by loving family and faith that the world could become a better place.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary people and I think the Obama’s can lead us out of the darkness of the Bush years and back into the light. America needs leadership, eloquence and youth to move us forward. Mrs. Obama touched on the leap of faith required by the American public in this presidential election, “…and one day, they (my children) and your sons and daughters will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They’ll tell them how this time; we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time in this great country where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House, we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.”
Others have been inspired by Barack Obama and filled with hope, folks like Caroline Kennedy who said last night, “I have never had someone inspire me the way people tell me my father inspired them, but I do now: Barack Obama,” There was something soul stirring about seeing all of the young Kennedy’s gathered on the stage following Senator Ted Kennedy’s inspirational turn at the podium. Both Senator Kennedy and his niece Caroline say they were motivated to endorse Obama and participate in his campaign by their children. The children of today will lead us forward unafraid to dream instead of doubt.
If you missed Michelle Obama’s speech watch it here…
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/michelle
Watch Jon Stewart’s take on the attacks on Michelle Obama’s patriotism by the main stream media….this is a classic!
Roxanne Walker
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Did you actually say THE Obama, Roxanne? As in THE One?
And "into the light"? Well, yes, when you believe your candidate is the Messiah, I guess you tend to use phrases like that without even thinking twice about it.
Which reminds me -- as unbelievable and surreal as this sounds -- Democrats are actually building a pillared, temple-like structure on the 50-yard line of Invesco Field, the spot Obama will deliver his acceptance speech from. Republicans are going have an absolute field day with this -- i.e. "Democrats build a temple to Obama." What a humongous mistake. Surely, a temple of doom. But leave it to the Dems to find a way to lose.
Let's see now, John Kennedy was a war hero who served seven years as a congressman, seven years as a senator, ran to the right of Nixon, cut taxes dramatically once in office and was so anti-communist, he devised a plan with the CIA to invade Cuba. So please, Roxanne, tell me again, what exactly do JFK and Obama have in common?
,,,,I guess you should ask JFK's daughter and nearly every member of his extended family who are solidly behind Obama, they seem to feel he's worthy of their endorsement and association with the Kennedy legacy.
Roxanne
You missed my point entirely, Roxanne. The Kennedy's are free to endorse whomever they want to. However, for reasons previously expressed, there is absolutely no similitude between JFK and Obama politically. Indeed, JFK, for reasons also previously expressed, would be considered in the Republican camp today if one took the time to look at his record.
PS: You placed your response in the middle of my comments, making it confusing as to which of us posted them.
Did you actually say THE Obama, Roxanne? As in THE One?
Did she say...THE Obama? UH...NO. The story was about Mrs. Obama.
I guess you are using politics rule #1. Don't answer the question they asked, answer the question you WISH they had asked. Don't respond to what Roxanne said, respond to what you WISH she had said, is what you are doing.
No one on the left thinks Obama is the Messiah. Do they hope he can get us out of this total mess that Bush has gotten us into? Probably.
The Messiah crap comes from the "email group at the church". Shhh, heres a secret, Karl Rove emailed that to the "email group at church". You know, the Urban Legend crowd who try to incite a reaction. They have certainly got a reaction out of you. You are just jumping up and down to find a reason to call Obama "The Messiah", just like Rush and your heroes do. It makes you feel good to "down somebody".
How about jumping up and down about energy prices quadrupling over the Bush tenure? How about being upset over Healthcare prices STILL soaring when Bush's plan told us it "was the lawyers fault? How about being outraged that your government lied to you about WMD's and killed/wounded many Americans and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis who had as much to do with 911 or terror as the country of Monaco? The Iraqis that happen to live on a swimiming pool of oil, that our country needs so our Soccer moms can drive 315HP SUV's to Blooms. Those are real issues that face this nation.
Obama is the Messiah? Thats an issue? No. Thats a desperate person hoping for her "team" to win when her "teams" coaches are doing the worst coaching job in nearly 70 years. You mam, are a joke. McCain may well win. When you have the American "sheeple" behind you, anything can be "Mission Accomplished".
PS: I've never listened to Rush in my life. But if it makes it easier for you to group people into neat little categories, go for it. Peace out.
Boy oh boy, this poor man is foaming at the mouth. Someone should put him out of his misery.
Out of the Darkness and Into the Light?
I cringed when I heard Obama (at Saddleback) say, "...we still don’t abide by that basic precept in Matthew that whatever you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” I mean, there he was, pandering to the audience by quoting the bible, when in reality he actually HAS a half-brother named George Obama who lives in a toiletless hut in Kenya, makes about $12 a year and has never received a nickel's worth of help from Obama. If Obama REALLY wanted to do something for the least of his brothers, he might want to start with his own -- if he can manage to part with a few of the four million dollars he made on his book last year. Or is he just as big a phoney as John Edwards? We'll see if he reaches out to his own brother soon enough. But I wouldn't hold my breath if I were George Obama.
I'm looking forward to seeing Obama speak at the temple Democrats erected for him tonight. Think he'll wear a toga?
Actually, Snapple, it's your education that's a joke, poor boy. "Mam" -- as you say -- is spelled "Ma'am." It's the colloquial shortening of madam. I can't imagine why someone as "well read" as you wouldn't know something like that. Furthermore, you neglected to place a comma after the word "You" -- which would have made it grammatically clear you were addressing me. Thus, your sentence should have read: ""You, ma'am, are a joke."
I remain available for further tutoring. Peace out.
You, ma'am, are a joke.
Yes, that is much better.