I am still bitter about the couple of hundred of dollars I gave the DNC in 2004. As much I respected Kerry's service in Vietnam and his speaking out against the war afterwards, as much I liked the populism of Edwards (sure, he seemed a little phony, a little too slick, but I liked what he said), I wasn't moving towards their particular ticket as much as I was trying like so many others to do my small part in preventing another 4 years of Republican rule.
I tried to get excited about the Democratic ticket in 2004 and there were times during the Democratic convention and during Kerry's swiftboating that I did get riled up. But like so many others I remember exactly where I was (a sandwich stand during a break at a conference) when I and everybody around me stopped talking and looked up at the TV showing Obama's speech. And I remember people asking one another "Who is this guy ?!". 4 years later, I think we're all starting to learn who this guy (and his team) may be.
As an immigrant, Obama's talk about the promise of America (which some people find empty or opportunistic) rings true to me, still. Yes, I did come here because of better economic opportunities - but I also came here because of that image of America that's been so tarnished over the past 8 years.
I grew up in a small country which prides itself, first and foremost, on enduring endless invasions, wars and crises. "We're still here" - that's the message I grew up with, surrounded by reminders of the past (ruins, castles, what have you). We always wondered, growing up, what it would be like to live in a place that mattered, that was at the center of things, rather than some former imperial outpost. When I came to US, that's what it felt like - and I found that people had a different set of messages they grew up with: that they could do anything, that they could be anything, that they could make (or make over) their lives. Even though those promises are not fulfilled for so many people here, it helps being an immigrant to understand how powerful just articulating such messages can be.
After the past 8 years, the candidacy of Barack Obama (and hopefully the performance of the Democrats in the various races) makes the promise of those messages that brought me (and so many of my coworkers in my immigrant-filled industry) here sound possible again - and not just for me and other people who are lucky to have a pretty decent education, but for others, too.
And the way that his campaign has been conducted, especially in recent days, makes me think that this time my donation will not be wasted.