I never understood it until I was watching Obama's victory speech Tuesday night and suddenly it was like a light bulb went off in my head. He is a leader. A very special leader.
What exactly do I mean by that? I don't mean to state the obvious or just repeat what has already been said. However, I do want to share how special this moment is.
Although I hate to admit it, I just turned the big six-O last week and now I have learned something about my parents that I never understood for all these years.
I will try to explain below the fold.
I have lived through 11 presidents and Obama will be the 12th in my lifetime. Needless to say, I was far too young to remember anything about Truman and all I really remember about Eisenhower is that he was in fact the President. The first election I remember was Kennedy vs Nixon in 1960. My parents sent me to a small Lutheran Parochial elementray school in Chicago even though my Father was just a truck driver and my Mother was a stay at home Mom. They just felt that it was important that their kids got the best education possible and that this was it. I do admit that it was a good school and my early educational background served me well my entire life. However, there was the prejudice against Kennedy from the teachers at the school. In retrospect, it had to stem from the fact that he was Catholic and we were Lutheran. In spite of the school and church's sentiments, my parent's were Kennedy Democrats for sure. My best guess is that FDR was their hero and they saw some of him in Kennedy. They loved and revered FDR.
After the tragedy that befell Kennedy there was a long list of Presidents that I have seen come and go. Some good.... most not very good. Johnson did a lot of good things but he had his dirty little war that tarnished him not only in my eyes, but in the eyes of most of the country before all was said and done.
Then we had Nixon who continued Johnson's war and came to represent all that was wrong with power in our country. Ford was more of a Saturday Night Live joke than a President of consequence.
Next came Jimmy Carter. We now see Carter as a visionary when it comes to energy and he was a good and honst man who was beleagured with the Iran hostage crisis and oil embargo which was his undoing in the eyes of the country.
Reagan was a hero to many for reasons I never agreed with, but he did seem to impress a lot of Republicans in spite of the reality of his policies. To this day, his union busting, feed the rich and screw the poor economic policies are still contributing to sending our economy into the tailspin we're seeing.
Bush one was just a dork. His approval ratings went from 90% after the first War in Iraq to 35% in a matter of two years due to his handling of the economy.
Clinton was great in many ways and the best President of my lifetime. The only problem with Clinton was the way he allowed the Republicans to crucify him when he knew they were out to get him and he supplied the ammo for them. How could such a brilliant man be so stupid? This tarnished his legacy that should have been great udner other circumstances.
Then we got Bush Two. There is no need to even waste time discussing the horrors of his two terms. Just be glad they are almost over.
I saw fault and shortcomings in every one of these presidents. It sometimes seem that mediocrity is rated as success in this office. I never understood how my parents could love and revere a President the way my folks did FDR.
Not until Tuesday night. Then as Obama was speaking, I suddenly understood what it means for America to actually have a "Leader". He gave a sense of leadership that said to all of us........ "You are in good hands"......... and "I promise that I will honestly do my best for all of you".
Then I finally understood what my parents felt about FDR. How America really can have a "Leader". How we can really trust someone in the office and how they can even be revered as time goes on. Obama is in a position to be such a leader. A man for the times and an honest advocate for the Amercian people.
Someone we can all be proud to call our President.
I wish him every success. Our country needs that success. Our country needs a "Leader".