cross-posted @ One Million Strong
Yesterday was a day of movement; a day of remembrance.
One of distinction; one of conviction.
Barack and Deval.
Together.
Ready to Fight, Ready to Move Us Forward.
If you think it is tough now, get ready for a ride of your life.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick waded into the contentious battle for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, endorsing Barack Obama as the "book smart and street smart" candidate during an evening rally on Boston Common.
Over 9,500 rally with Barack and Gov. Deval Patrick in Boston.
Yes, over 9,500 supporters rallied, in Boston, Massachusetts, at the last minute to listen to a sterling speech given by Governor Deval Patrick, introducing Barack Obama:
For once, I want a campaign that’s not about the candidate, but about us.
Not about a resume, but about character. Not about connections or convenience, but about conviction. Not about smearing the competition, but about lifting us all up. Not about the right and the left, but about right and wrong. Not about yesterday, but about tomorrow.
I don’t care whether the next president has experience in the White House. I care whether he understands life in your house.
I don’t care whether the next president has already met foreign heads of state. I care whether he knows something about how people live and think in distant cities and villages and can remember that our actions affect them, too.
I don’t care whether the next president is the first black president or the first woman president or the first whatever, to tell you the truth. I care that the next president has moral courage, a political backbone, the humility to admit what he doesn’t know, and the wisdom to learn from others.
All of the above is Barack Obama.
The past few days have been tough for Obama supporters, but none the less, necessary.
Why?
To see what everyone is made of. To see if you can smell bullshit when it is slung. To know a red herring, when you read it, to see if folks get politics 101. That is why.
The reason I like Barack Obama, because he is just a man. One who will look you in the face and tell you "I don't know". One who does not stay on script, if there is even one. One who will tell you he is not a perfect man, but just a man. One who is honest.
What all of us have missed over the Dark Age of Bush II, is light. Yes, light. We have forgotten what it looks like on a candidate. That light is honesty.
We have been in the dark so long, that when someone comes along, as simple as Barack, we have a hard time accepting him, for who he is.
This is a struggle for many. It is. One I understand.
When Barack Obama ran for the senate of Illinois, my state, I was skeptical. First, I did not know him from Adam’s Hellcat. Really. Just because he is African-American, does not equate he will be right. And we all have been through this with politicians of all races and gender. But overall, I did not believe he could win. There have only been two African-American persons in the senate since Reconstruction, Edward W. Brooke and Carole Mosley-Braun.
Could Obama be elected? Another African-American from Illinois?
I did not know anything about State Senator Barack Obama and performed my slow and meticulous search of who this man was.
I was stunned. Bi-racial. Columbia Graduate. Harvard Law School. First African-American of the Harvard Law Review. Constitutional Professor, University of Chicago. Community Organizator. And the list was endless.
I told my husband, we are voting for him. He is the real deal.
Then we saw him debate, Alan Keyes. Slam Dunk. But it was not the slam dunk; it was his presence, his being. He did not seem or appear scripted, nor rehearsed. Spoke softly, eloquently. A listener. A different politician.
His sterling speech at the Democratic National Convention, 2004. It was shattering. It was all about us. Everyone of us. No matter if you are in a red state, blue state or purple state, it pertained to you. It sealed the committed deal.
I can go on about Barack Obama. Lord knows my husband and my family hear enough from me. But I just want to end with this. I am proud of Barack Obama. Whether he wins or loses. He has won me over and many others like me, that politics is about brokering relationships and listening to the average voter. That is what it is about.
This race for the nomination will not be won by who has the most money, who has the least money, or who has the media in their pocket.
It will be won by who does the Democratic base believe and trust the most.
Sincerity. Honesty. Trust. Change. Barack Obama.