Why not Obama? 10

Langston Hughes wrote a wonderful series of poems around dreams.  One of the poems in the series has last lines that I especially love.  (I’m quoting from memory because I can’t find this particular one right now so forgive me if I’m off a bit.)

why should it be my loneliness?
why should it be my song?
why should it be my dream, deferred over-long?

These lines have been coming into my head for the past few days as concerns Obama’s candidacy. 
Why not Obama? 

When I first heard that Obama was going to run, one of my initial thoughts was that he should wait until the next election because he was still too green as a politician.  As the months unfolded – I began to think, why not?  Why not Obama?

Having political experience certainly hasn’t guaranteed that our presidents have served the country well or honorably.  When the majority white state of Iowa voted for Obama, my cynicism that he could not win changed.  Obama represents change – not only because of his color and the experiences and meaning that it has brought to his life whether he wanted it to or not, but also because of his age, his racial background, his family background, and his class background.  He is not part of the status quo.  He brings a new vitality, new viewpoint,  and hopefulness with his candidacy. 

His win in S. Carolina is quite meaningful because a lot of people stood up and voted for him.  Many (though not all) of the people who share his skin voted for him and many (though not all) of the people outside his skin voted for him.  Race was not the reason although it was part of the reason because you can’t separate a person’s background from who they are.

His candidacy reflects a desire for change by a large number of Americans.

This campaign proves that there are lots of people ready for change and that Americans of all colors are voting in different ways, even on the Republican side.  No one candidate has a lock yet on their respective nominations because people are looking at issues and what the candidates say to them as they make up their minds about how to vote.  It’ll be interesting to see what happens on Super Tuesday.

Note to Republicans – it is offensive that you have written off Black voters so totally that you don’t feel you have to even address us, court us, or acknowledge us in your campaigns.

Note to Hillary – it was disappointing to see your speech after S. Carolina’s election results.  You need to be less Clinton machine and more Hillary candidate.

Obama! Obama! Obama!  Why not?
Even if it doesn’t happen – the possibilities that it., for the first time in U.S. history could happen,  shows that this country has come a mighty long way.  The dream may not be deferred much longer.