We temporarily interrupt this blog for a short political announcement. Today is the Maine Democratic Caucus, which will happen regardless of the weather. I'll be at Christ Church's parish hall at 12:30 to stand up for Barack Obama.
Jen and Abe Lechner and I went up to Bangor yesterday to see Senator Obama in person. We stood in line outside the Bangor Auditorium for more than an hour, and the line stretched behind us farther than we could see. I heard last night that they had to turn more than 1,000 people away.
I don't agree with all of Senator Obama's positions. I worry about his lack of experience in the Washington system. But I believe in his energy, I believe in his optimism, and I believe in his vision for the future of our country. I agree with his assumptions about what is right and what is wrong, about the need to restore honor and civility and justice to our dealings with each other and the world.
And I believe in the power of hope. Senator Obama was most powerful yesterday when he responded to those who accuse him of peddling false hope. If he, the African-American child of a single mother, does not know about the price of hope, who would? The unlikeliness of his candidacy is proof that hope and hard work are the most powerful things in the world.
I think of St. Paul's letter to the Romans: "These sufferings bring patience, as we know, and patience brings perseverance, and perseverance brings hope, and this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit..." Hope follows perseverance. Senator Obama has persevered, and will. Even if he is not our next President, he is someone very important in our nation's history, and I am glad to be a witness.
4 comments:
We're holding an open discussion over at http://www.blogher.com/ about the caucus. We'd LOVE to hear about your experience. Come on by!
Erin Kotecki Vest
BlogHer Election '08 Producer
The Gardiner caucus went for Barack Obama by more than a 2-1 margin. We have 14 delegates to send to the state Democratic convention at the end of May; 10 of those delegates will vote for Obama, 4 of them will vote for Clinton.
On to the next!
Excellent comments, Clair. I think a lot of people feel the positive energy of Obama's message. And, I don't think he would sell his soul to become President. I can't say that about others in the race. I was pleasantly surprised when Missouri went his way although by a skimpy 1%, but it was a dramatic change in conventional thinking for a state that can be fairly thick headed.
Larry
Hear, hear!
I saw Obama speak in Hartford last week, and he's incredibly inspirational and hopeful, while being incredibly realistic about what needs to be done.
Was thrilled to see Maine went with him as Connecticut did. Nice to see our states are not Clinton sheep.
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