So I took the kids with me to the Convention Center last night to see Senator Obama. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I'd be shaking hands with him! AWESOME! It was me, the baby, my five year old son, my 12 yo daughter, and one of her friends from school. (Imagine the fun of taking four kids with you to a political rally. No, really IMAGINE it!) We stood in line for awhile, went through the very heavy security (Think Secret Service guys with their suits and earpieces.) and then ended up getting shuffled into the "overflow room". We were told that someone from Obama's campaign would come into the room to speak to everybody, and to walk over to this area where they had a little platform set up with some metal gates around it. So off I went with all my little ducklings to stand dutifully beside the gate. Someone mentioned that Obama himself might come in, and we were excited at that possibility. Well, eight o'clock hits, and in walks Barack Obama, covered in Secret Service guys. He gets up on the platform and says something which I don't hear because the crowd has gone wild, which has caused the baby to start screaming hysterically in my ear. Then, he gets off the platform, and starts walking around the gates shaking hands. The crowd immediately starts pushing forward and screaming. At that point, my son was mashed into the gate, I was trying to lift the baby up a little so that she wouldn't be crushed against me so much. I was also attempting to brace myself for a rumble with the people behind me in order to keep my kids from getting crushed. I looked at the Secret Service guys and said, "My kids are getting squashed!" They're like, "So? Do they have guns? Are they potential assassins? Then we don't care." Then Obama is in front of us, and he goes,"OH, YOU HAVE A BABY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" I reply, "NO, WE'RE GETTING SQUASHED!" He stands back for a second, raises his voice, and says, "PLEASE DON'T PUSH! THERE'S A BABY UP HERE!" Then he touched the baby's hand (who's still screaming hysterically.", shook hands with my (a little bit flatter than when we arrived) son, my twelve year old, and her friend from school who's snapping cell phone pictures like a tourist. It was a little scary, a lot exciting, and I'm very, very thrilled that my kids and I got to be a part of it.
How amazing to see history come alive, and get to shake hands with the first African-American to run for the office of President of the United States of America. All I could think was, "This is Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream becoming a reality."
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4 comments:
I find it interesting that everyone is so excited about the idea of the first African American running for president but not so much about the first woman. I'm not saying whether I think she would be a better nominee, but I guess after years (like say the 50 it took women to get the right to vote after African American men)people should also be excited about that prospect. Or should we expect to wait 50 years after an African American man becomes president before we expect a female president?
Don't get me wrong, I'm also excited that there's a woman running, and have had kids in In-House writing lots of essays about it. The thing for me is, do I believe Hillary can win in the general election? The answer is, "Well, no." There are too many people who loathe her. I have nothing against her except she didn't stick to her guns over the Healthcare issue, and she voted for the war in Iraq and is now trying to say she voted for something different than actual war. I also think she's doing bogus attacks on Obama. I could give you all my reasons, but I won't. Sen. Obama makes me feel some excitement which Hillary just...doesn't. On the things to see Before I Die list, I do mention wanting to see a female president. I'm all for it. Just not Hillary, I'm afraid.- Confusia
I hit the comment button to say that this post nearly brought me to tears. That said, I have a comment about the first two comments. I agree that it's very interesting! Timeline-wise, it stands to reason that we'd get a black man in office before we get a woman, of any color, in office. In a way it's a shame that they are running against each other. No matter what, one "first" loses. Also, I agree that Hillary isn't as electable as Obama. I hear she's much more charasmatic in person, but she does have so many of those issues you mentioned. That said, Obama has been in office such a short time that we have no idea how he may or may not stick to his guns on his votes. I know that he has missed/abstained from many NCLB and healthcare votes in his short time in office (as has she). For me, I don't know that he would be all that much better. However, I do think he can beat McCain. I do not think she can. That is a very important distinction to me.
So true, Regan. It is a very important distinction to me, too. There's a window of opportunity here to really get some stuff taken care of with a Democratic President AND a Democratic controlled House and Senate. I'm hoping that Obama is what he says he is. I'm hoping that he'll get some changes made. Do I know for sure? No. What I do know is that he's getting people inspired to take action...at the very least to vote, and that makes me very happy indeed!
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