XXVI (26)
In March of 2008 I was in my senior year at Virginia Commonwealth University, and we were in the middle of an intense primary, between Obama, Clinton, and Edwards, with Edwards starting to fade and Barrack Obama gaining momentum. I was an early believer in the Candidacy of Barrack Obama for President ahead of my parents and mentors, and part of the magic of the moment was how Obama was able to capture the imagination of the youth, and how his campaign utilized the youthful insight to incorporate social media and grassroots organizing into the campaign strategy. I volunteered, I made phone calls, I worked with the young Democrats at VCU, and sometime around March of 2008 Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama visited our school, and I got to look the future President in the eyes, and shake his hand.
Then in January 2009, my brother and one of our mutual friends visited me in New York, and the three of us went down to DC for the Inauguration and were on the National Mall, near the Washington Monument among the throngs of people who showed up to witness history in the making. I wore the shirts, I loved the “Yes We Can” slogan, and I knew from the moment I looked into his eyes and shook his hand that President Barrack Obama was a good man.
I was also extremely aware that this good person, was still a politician, and even as President, there were gonna be limits to what kind of change he would be able to make in such a deeply entrenched and flawed system. My assessment is that President Barrack Obama was the best President of my lifetime, and I believe history will agree with that assessment. I’ve been alive for Reagan, Bush, Clinton, G.W. Bush, Obama, and…. 45….
The thing that I remember about Obama, when he was elected, I believe also in his inaugural speech, as well as a theme I heard him talk about throughout his campaign and presidency, was basically, “this isn’t about me, this is about you. Us.” A stark contrast from 45 who makes it all about him. Even though I love Obama, I still have critiques about certain aspects of his Presidency, as I think we should have for anybody who elects to lead us. Which is why it’s hard for me to watch people fall for the cult of personality that is 45, and how his followers seem to believe he can do no wrong. I don’t believe anybody can do no wrong. It’s what being human is.
On November 17th of 2020, Barrack Obama released “The Promised Land” which is the first volume of his presidential memoirs. If you download the audiobook version it is in fact narrated by President Obama himself. I’m probably a quarter of the way through it, and it affirms a lot of what my outside assessment of President Obama. Being the President of The United States is one of the hardest, almost impossible, jobs in the world. There are no easy answers, it isn’t binary choices. So the arrogance we’ve witnessed for the past 4 years is just shocking. 45’s biggest failing is not being able to admit that he doesn’t know it all, and not being able to think outside of himself. I believe Obama will be remembered for the first steps of fixing our healthcare system, legalizing gay marriage, and exposing the blatant ugly racism in our country that was bubbling under the surface, but that a lot of people didn’t want to see. Then in the face of unprecedented obstruction and disrespect for a sitting President from Mitch and company, I believe partially racially motivated, the Obamas executed the dignity of the office with grace like we have never seen.
Let us hope that we carry ourselves with such grace, in the face of whatever the coming days, weeks, months, and years have in store for us. And may we also experience joy and abundance.
