Saturday, November 7, 2009

yes we can

there's a documentary on hbo about the obama campaign. i dvr'd it the other night and finally had the uninterrupted time to watch. talk about inspiring and emotional. i still cry when i watch his acceptance speech which is also on the dvr. the documentary followed obama and his advisors from the time he announced he was running through his election. i watched every moment as it happened in real time beginning 3 years ago, but what was fascinating was seeing his growth. and to see how obama rallied so many young people, old people, white and black people, americans, europeans. and made them care.

during the election, i compared obama to the tortoise in the children's fable. he was unrockable...slow and steady...always on message, unflappable. and always inspiring. when he gave the speech that included the brilliantly written phrase - we are the ones we've been waiting for. we are the change that we seek - i knew right then we had our president. the message of taking responsibility is so powerful and empowering. when zach had his bar mitzvah, i put that brilliant quote on the back of the prayer book created for the service. his bar mitzvah was 10-18-08. truth is, i had the programs printed in august and knew that a strong message would be so appropriate on that important day for my son.

obama inspires me all the time. to be a better person, a better parent, a better friend, to think about others. one year later i still think he's an amazing force who will make important changes and i doubt i'll see another person like him in my lifetime. that's why i keep obama close. after he became president, a friend sent me a life-sized cardboard cut out of obama. he stood in my living room for about 10 minutes with lucy the dog freaking out. she apparently couldn't handle a tall good looking black man in the house. her loss, because obama now lives in my office and i love the reactions he gets...all inspiring.

wwcd: you may not agree with his politics, you may not be happy with how he's spent the last year, but i dare you not to think he's inspiring

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