Obama Express

I haven't posted anything since the election because, well, I was satisfied. Obama was elected, and not only just barely elected but elected by a large margin. Election night moved me to tears. I finally felt, for the very first time, a politician who spoke to me personally, asked me to do everything that I can to work with him to make our country and our world a better place. Barak Obama reflects my values of community involvement, respect for humanity, the environment, our resources and that every person deserves dignity, respect and lifting up no matter what their flaws. His values also ask me and each person to strive to be his or her best at whatever we choose to do.


My family has been given a wonderful opportunity to be in Washington DC for the innaguration. My husband and I felt strongly that we want our children to be a witness to this historic event and we ourselves want to be as well. The world is changing so fast and Obama is a big part of that change. My one big hope is that he can keep it real and be accessible to the people, to really speak to the people and hear the people as his presidency unfolds. GW did not speak to me. He spoke to maybe 10 people, those who truly benefited from his policies. it amazes me that he spent more time doing press in the past two weeks that he has the past year. He wasn't the people's president like he was supposed to be. And in spite of Obama being a democrat, given his approach so far, he seems to be off to a good start as every person's leader not just a select few. He doesn't have the hubris and personal flaws of Clinton, he doesn't have the arrogance and poor judgement of GW, he has the political mandate that Carter never gained, he has the charisma and "wow" factor of Reagan without the dementia. he is inspiring and is relating to the public in a very personal way.

Today, I traveled with my two elementary school aged children to dc to witness the innaguration. Our train was directly behind the Obama express. We were delayed and moved very slowly for a large portion of the trip. It was long, yet at the same time exhilirating. Knowing that Obama was on the same track we were, the same track that Lincoln traveled and so many other great men and women, then when we passed his train and saw all of the hundreds of people at the Wilmington station waving and cheering, my heart leapt for joy. I know all of this sounds like a complete lovefest with no criticism or balance, but this is the time to have that. Once tuesday comes and the next bailout, stimulus package or troubled withdrawal from an illegal war happens and the real work begins, Obama, like every president will have to make tough decisions, maybe even sometimes unpopular ones. GW made some doosies. Unfortunately for all of us he made the wrong choices.

On a personal note, I really do hope that my kids remember this trip and remember the things we see, hear and do while we are here. There will be long lines, port-o-johns, waiting, huge crowds. But there will also be spirit, joy, celebration, euphoria, emotion and awe. There is a spiritual experience that happens when you share a common experience with a large group of people. Go to a sports stadium for any game and you can see a glimpse of it. Attend an event for a cause you believe in and you will feel it. To share space with millions of people to celebrate the swearing in of the first African American president of this nation, a nation that thrived and prospered from the slavery and human traffiking of his ancestors, is truly awe inspiring.



I attended a meeting the other day of folks involved in community service who come together to discuss race and racism. Someone there shared that some well meaning white people ask how it feels to have racism finished with now that Obama has been elected. The individual who shared this had not formulated a response to this because of the emotion it stirred up. Another in the group said, this isn't the end it is just the beginning. Truly it is a beginning, a new beginning, for all of us and for a better tomorrow for all the world's children.

Swing with Obama

Hey this is a shout out to my friend Andrea. Totally cool, smart chick who just recorded an Obama Campaign song. The lyrics are fantastic and get to the root of what's going on. We're almost there, but it isn't a done deal yet. Do what you can these last few days. Volunteer for a phone bank, talk to people in the community about voting and about Obama's message of change.

Follow the link to Swing with Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoXJTR_6Isw

We're almost there

Okay so is anyone else overloaded and done with this election season that has lasted 2 full years? I can't believe I even want to write about it.

Today I was at the dry cleaners and had a conversation with the guy behind the counter, a "joe the dry cleaner" if you will, although he really is a dry cleaner. Anyway, the conversation went something like this, He says,

"so how 'bout the election?"

I say, "I'm kind of overloaded with it at this point."

He says,"well they're all a bunch of crooks, every one of them, especially in Washington."

I say, "That's why I like Obama. He hasn't been in DC that long. He is new and will bring a fresh perspective. The Republicans are a mess."

He says....nothing.

I doubt this guy is going to vote, or if he does it will be McCain or maybe Ralph Nader or something. There are these folks out there who don't feel that what politicians do effects their lives. These are the ones who won't vote. The pessimists. My husband is a pessimist. In fact I've had similar conversations with him. But he won't NOT participate. As a woman I absolutely MUST participate, and to find out why read on. My father's mother was born in 1892 or thereabouts. My mother's mother was born in 1905 or thereabouts.

What follows is a direct quote form an email I received today I'd like to share with you (I can't cite the original writer because it wasn't in the email, however the first person in the string is Janice Fox)....this is especially for the ladies:

A Message for all women -- WHY WOMEN SHOULD VOTE

This is the story of our Grandmothers and Great-grandmothers; they lived only 90 years ago.

Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote. The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.'

(Lucy Burns)

They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air.

(Dora Lewis) They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu, thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack.

Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women. Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food--all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms.

(Alice Paul) When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/suffrage/nwp/prisoners.pdf

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because- why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient. My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, <>saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. She was--with herself. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.' HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order. In the movie, it is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanentl y institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.' Please, if you are so inclined, pass this on to all the women you know. We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote. History is being made. END

We fought and died for this right, and so did our brothers and sisters of color. Tell everyone you know to VOTE on Tuesday!

political mama, New York

What Obama stands for

Barak Obama stands for all of us. He stands for the best that we can be as a society; one that is compassionate, fair, generous and gives of itself. His background in community organizing and community work has been poo pooed by the Republicans, as if it doesn't count and isn't valuable. They also poo poo any voter that doesn't live in a "small town" or the "real America". Just watch John Stewart's Daily show excerpt to find out if you are a "real American" by taking this quiz http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=188637&title=quiz-are-you-a-real-american

Obama stands for the call to all of us to help make our world, town, community and neighborhood a better place. If you lift up another person, you lift up yourself and those around you. If you work to make positive change for people to help themselves become better citizens, more financially solvent, independent, and fully recognized members of our nation, then to me that is being a "real American".

Obama stands for undoing the racism that is embedded in the very foundation and bedrock of our nation. Much progress has been made over the years since the civil rights movement demanded change. However, it wasn't that long ago that the Freedom Riders in the south were murdered, that blacks protesting against segregation in the south were beaten, fire hosed and attached by dogs. There has been a lot of talk about a "post-racial" United States and that has been attributed to so many young people jumping on the Obama wagon....that they can envision a post-racial society where racism isn't as common a practice in the everyday lives of americans. Just because we elect our first African American president doesn't mean that the work is done. Obama will stand for all of America, UNLIKE Mcain who will stand for only the "real America" that of the white, rural, working class, provincial, uninformed and small minded.

Do I sound a little biased? Well I am. I can't stand it when I see these supposedly educated, world traveled people spewing the vitriolic venom of the Republican Party. Mcain has cowtowed to his party so he can finally be THE Republican candidate. He has compromised in so many ways, not the least of which is his campaign's negative orientation. The evil tactics they typically use are turning voters off, as they should. But to see John Mcain approving and participating in this, has taken any of the respect I had for him as a public figure and politician away.

Obama has kept his campaign clean. He has followed through on his promise to do so. He hasn't let the riotous radicals of the democratic party create these charactar assassinating ads like the "swift boat" groups. Obama not only stands for doing the right thing by others, he actually DOES the right thing. When Obama is elected, and he will be, he will do the right thing, he will maintain his convictions yet respond to learning new things as he will in the awesome job of president. I must admit that I myself have felt that he should be elected at all costs. If we lived in another country in another part of the world, there may be people killed to have a politician elected. I appreciate the fact that we live in a society where that isn't the case.

I have to hold onto the hope that Obama will be elected in spite of re-drawn election districts; faulty voting machines, hanging chads, legitimate votes not counted(remember the votes from the U.S. military abroad that weren't counted because of the post mark date in the 2004 election?). In spite of all of it, Obama has to be elected. He is our only hope for a positive future.

Inform yourself of where we are electorally by visiting:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/maps/obama_vs_mccain/

First Lady/First "dude"

So I met up with a friend of mine yesterday who I've known since college. We've had many a political discussion over the years. We got on the topic of the role of the first lady or first "dude" as the case may be.

The main point here is that the elected person is in the driver's seat and should be viewed as such in all public interviews and appearances. However, there is a precedent set by prior first ladies of a level of involvement in their husband's administration and also of forging ahead with community/societal work that reflects their husband's administation's values and priorities.

Eleanor Roosevelt is the first that comes to mind. She traveled extensively around the country during her husband's presidency and reported back to President Roosevelt what she saw in communities from across the country specific to poverty, the circumstances of minorities and the disadvantaged ( disabled etc.)

Then of course there's Hillary, who was very involved with President Clinton's administration, to both it's advantage and disadvantage. The failed health care reform of his first administration was due largely to the closed door approach they took and the fact that Pres. Clinton appointed Hillary, not a health care expert and his wife, to the post of leading the project. The criticisms it opened up particularly among the right wing conservatives who had pharmaceuticals and insurance companies in their pockets was brutal and killed the reform. Now so many years later we are looking at the same issue because we MUST.

So back to this conversation with my friend. He shared with me that he doesn't care for Michelle Obama because of a joint interview he saw with her and her husband where Michelle put her hand on his arm and "shut him down" during his answer to the interveiwer. I don't know the interview he was speaking of, but for him he felt that Barak is the focus and she overstepped and that may be an indication of how she may be should he be elected. Interesting question; what is the role of first lady, or potential first lady? And how can they walk that fine line of being a role model and leader of sorts, yet not be the elected candidate.

My friend went on to clarify that his like or dislike of the first lady won't determine his vote for the candidate. It's kind of an aside.

I was very happy to hear this. I happen to like Michelle. She is bright, enthusiastic and strong. She has opened herself up to the public in a way that is brave and beautiful. My sense is that the campaign asked this of her. And she agreed, for her husband, the candidate to do it. I don't know if it was reluctant on her part at all. Probably not given how it played out. Would I do that for my husband if he was running for office? or Vice Versa? Thank goodness I probably don't have to answer that.

VP Debate

Call me crazy but I really can't understand the talking heads who say that Gov Palin did a good job last night in the debate. She can give a good talking point speech, make eyecontact and say it all with an air of confidence, but there's no substance! Yes, I'm impressed that a mom with 5 kids has accomplished what she has done and holds a respectable public office such as Governor of a state. She is warm and shares here personal life with her audience in a way that is disarming and fresh. But does that mean that she is qualified for the office of VP?

Let's face it, a lot of women who are in the public eye or public office do the same thing. Guess what? Men do it too. They share a bit of themselves with their audience to show their human-ness and how much like their audience they are. It's a tactic of persuasion and anyone running for an office or in the public eye who is successful, does this. But that's just not enough of a reason for me to even consider voting for her ticket.

How intimidating could Katie Couric be? Really? Palin couldn't answer a simple question like what newspapers or magazines she reads to keep her informed. I could have respected an answer like the New Republic or even the Achorage Daily News or another local Alaskan paper. But she couldn't or wouldn't answer the question. In fact she hardly answered one single question from the moderator last evening. She simply ignored them and spoke her already prepared talking point that seemed closest to what the moderator asked about.

Some of you will say, well all politicians do that. And some do. But to see Palin up there next to Joe Biden, who although I have some issues with, is clearly a true stateman in comparison. My humble yet screaming opinion is that John McCain was coerced by the RNC and powerbrokers to pick Palin because she is a great face, a puppet that they can get to say or do anything that the true power holders of the Republican Party tell her to. She is another George W. But because she is a woman, everyone's falling all over themselves for her.

There are plenty of women in this world who do what she does. They are community leaders, hold public office, run board rooms, give speeches and have a family. Some people in New York gave Hillary Rodham Clinton a hard time when she first ran for Senate. They complained that she hadn't had enough public office experience that she should start from the bottom with a congressional seat first and work her way up the ranks like everybody else. But she ISN"T everybody else. She is extraordinary. She is extraordinarily smart and has over 40 years of experience from political activism to practicing law to raising a daughter to bringing true substance to the role of First Lady of our nation. Maybe she is a carpet bagger who moved here to run for office. But she has done good things for the State of New York and for our Country.

Palin has been around for about 5 minutes. She is a shiny new personality to take the stage that is distracting us from the real issues. Can you really see her presiding over a contensious Senate debate?
So I ask you, why do YOU think they picked Palin?