We went and done it - Barack Obama wins 2008 election

December 1st, 2008

YAY! It’s been almost a month, and the reality has finally sunk in. YAY! America is a better country today, and I am very proud of our citizenry for seeing through the viciousness of the GOP and coming through to elect just the right man for this time. YAY! Do I sound like I’m please as punch over the outcome? You betcha.

North Carolina was a swing state. I’ve never lived in a swing state before, and we were inundated with negative campaigning from the McCain ticket. I had always thought McCain was an honorable man, but I could not possibly support someone who would say he was opposed to negative campaigning while burying us with negative mailers and robocalls. It was ugly, nasty and mean-spirited. I like to think we’re better than that.

Although I’d never been involved in politics before, I felt deep in my gut that change was imperative. The prospect of Bush’s policies being continued for even one minute past January 20th scared the heck out of me. I honestly can’t think of one branch of government that he and his cronies didn’t break. I can’t think of one branch of government that is working as it should.

I volunteered for the Obama campaign, and I made phone calls. Obama’s campaign was unbelievably professional and disciplined. I never heard anyone say anything bad about McCain or Palin to the people we talked to. Our job was to be positive and to encourage people to vote.

For anyone who is still unsure of the man, I can assure you that he’s okay. He might end up screwing up like so many other politicians, but he’s not Muslim or communist or a terrorist or anything else. How do I know?

He graduated from Punahou School in 1979. I graduated in 1968. The school is a first-rate private school that teaches its students that those who are given great gifts have a great responsibility to give back. This is instilled in children starting in kindergarten, and it is a major component of the school community. Barack was a perfect illustration of this with his work as a community organizer.

Another thing about Punahou is that we were required to attend chapel every week. The school is very diverse with children of all races, nationalities and religions, and they go out of their way not to make it too hard for kids of different religions, but the main undercurrent is Christianity. The school was founded in 1841 by the descendants of missionaries, for heaven’s sake.

The last thing is that my sister used to work for Barack’s grandmother. When you know someone’s grandmother, you get a pretty good sense of that person. My sister told me that Barack’s grandmother was a stern and tough boss, but she was fair. She was highly respected and admired, and she reached a position of considerable authority at a time when women had a great deal of difficulty doing so. Kudos to her on so many levels.

All in all, I trust that our country is in good hands. I’m so very happy that so many of us joined together to do the right thing.

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Categories: Commentary, Government, Politics | Tags: , , , , , , , | 29 Comments