It was truly inspiring and uplifting to see the Presidential candidate Barack Obama in person, at University of Toledo’s Savage Hall before the primaries. My wife and two young daughters were exhilarated to be simply there in the audience. We all hung onto each and every word he said. He reminded us of a man who illuminates a room as soon he enters it.
On that Sunday, it was a 10,000 attendee-strong arena that was swathed in the light of hope. We later learned that there were about 5,000 more who couldn’t get in and braved the chilly and breezy afternoon. He didn’t disappoint them; in his hallmark style, upon his arrival, he addressed them first before entering the main hall.
Some say Mr. Obama is not black enough, and they are right. He does carry a hue of the late John F. Kennedy, the most loved, respected, revered and enigmatic president of the past 100 years! Yet, he is not white enough either because in his humility, he unmistakably wears the mantle of Dr. King.
If the past 5 years are any indication of our indignation in the eyes of the world, we will be better off by keeping the God of ‘conservatives’ out of the debate on the issue of what future holds for us as the world leader.
Never mind Senator Clinton’s rebound in the primaries of February 4, when she won Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island. But if anyone is counting, her win of delegates was in single digits. Yes, that is important for the Clintons because their decades-long combined ‘experience’ did come in handy as their smear campaign and scare-tactics did succeed in making some dents in Senator Obama’s thunderous stride on the path to the nomination.
Super delegates or not, the popular votes are in Senator Obama’s favor: after all, he is the one who has energized the country and proselytized the youth into the religion of individual faith and power. If ‘hope’ is not a culmination of these two forces, I don’t know what else is.
The big question is whether the fervor and passion that Senator Obama has created will help Americans see the light. Are we ready to shed away the garment of fear that Rudolf ‘man who ran’ Giuliani tried so hard and failed so miserably to wrap us into?
The GOP maverick John McCain has already promised us a cocoon of fear by outlining the next 100 years of presence in Iraq – Oh yeah, if you cannot win the war, prolong it. Only those lacking any imagination and yet insatiated with blood-letting and gunning for more, would vote for a cloned third Bush term in the White House, and glorify the perpetuation of the fear syndrome.
I for one am ready for a courageous Black president whose middle name happens to be Hussein. Is USA ready too?
