a formal beginning

I skipped the political posts during the election, but here it is.

Years ago, (2004 I believe), I asked a question in my AIM away message, as was the fashion in those days:

'Which do you think we'll have first - a black president or a woman president?' There was some debate about which one US citizens would be more likely to accept. Some people even made the comment that it could be a woman if Hillary ran in 2008. Obama was not even on the horizon, not yet a proverbial glimmer in voters' eyes. It seemed like such a distant dream - either one. How awesome is it that four years later, we have the answer, and many of us helped it happen?

I first heard of Obama when I saw him on TV, speaking about Darfur along with other senators. Each person got up and said a lot of mumbo jumbo while kissing up to all the other speakers who had gone before them. I was struck by Obama as he was more to the point. He spoke about the situation as someone who seems to genuinely care about people, whether they are Americans or Africans. I decided he was the first 'politician' I liked.

The next I heard of him was in a friend's AIM profile (so hot back then) with the mantra 'Obama '08.' Again, this is long before he announced he was running, and back when a large majority of Americans had still never heard of him. I was excited at the prospect, and began researching him and his eventual platform. He is someone I can admire as a leader, and he is the first person I have ever been compelled to vote for.

I do not think he is a savior. However, I respect him as president of our country based on his care for the less powerful, and to me that is much more important than whether or not he can quickly and easily remove the US from its current economic crisis. And come on, who could do that?

Unfortunately, I won't be in DC on Tuesday, but I'm overall just excited to be living in this time and place. We will look back on this not as just a historical event because it's a first, but as a meaningful change for individuals and hopefully for the world.