One Of Us: President Barack Obama
Sep. 5th, 2012 01:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusPresident Barack Obama: One of Us.
Michelle Obama gives a brilliant and moving speech at the Democratic National Convention (full text).
"Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys…Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma’s house…and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn’t stay awake for both.
"And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls…I deeply loved the man I had built that life with…and I didn’t want that to change if he became President.
"I loved Barack just the way he was.
"You see, even though back then Barack was a Senator and a presidential candidate…to me, he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door…he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he’d found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.
"But when Barack started telling me about his family – that’s when I knew I had found a kindred spirit, someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine.
"You see, Barack and I were both raised by families who didn’t have much in the way of money or material possessions but who had given us something far more valuable – their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves. (Read the rest)."
She goes on to talk about their combined student loan payments, which were higher than the mortgage on their house. And how being president doesn't change a man, but reveals who he is.
And I would say: he's one of us.
He cares about us, has already reduced student loan payments and protected students from rapacious loan practices. He's supported equal pay for women because he has two daughters and a wife he respects.
The first move he made when he stepped into office was close Guantanamo Bay--it's gotten complicated, but the fact that he did that first tells you who he is.
He's ended Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
He's passed universal health care, even though it cost him.
He gave immigrant kids who've lived here their whole lives citizenship.
This is the man to vote for. Someone who's one of Us.
Michelle Obama gives a brilliant and moving speech at the Democratic National Convention (full text).
"Our life before moving to Washington was filled with simple joys…Saturdays at soccer games, Sundays at grandma’s house…and a date night for Barack and me was either dinner or a movie, because as an exhausted mom, I couldn’t stay awake for both.
"And the truth is, I loved the life we had built for our girls…I deeply loved the man I had built that life with…and I didn’t want that to change if he became President.
"I loved Barack just the way he was.
"You see, even though back then Barack was a Senator and a presidential candidate…to me, he was still the guy who’d picked me up for our dates in a car that was so rusted out, I could actually see the pavement going by through a hole in the passenger side door…he was the guy whose proudest possession was a coffee table he’d found in a dumpster, and whose only pair of decent shoes was half a size too small.
"But when Barack started telling me about his family – that’s when I knew I had found a kindred spirit, someone whose values and upbringing were so much like mine.
"You see, Barack and I were both raised by families who didn’t have much in the way of money or material possessions but who had given us something far more valuable – their unconditional love, their unflinching sacrifice, and the chance to go places they had never imagined for themselves. (Read the rest)."
She goes on to talk about their combined student loan payments, which were higher than the mortgage on their house. And how being president doesn't change a man, but reveals who he is.
And I would say: he's one of us.
He cares about us, has already reduced student loan payments and protected students from rapacious loan practices. He's supported equal pay for women because he has two daughters and a wife he respects.
The first move he made when he stepped into office was close Guantanamo Bay--it's gotten complicated, but the fact that he did that first tells you who he is.
He's ended Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
He's passed universal health care, even though it cost him.
He gave immigrant kids who've lived here their whole lives citizenship.
This is the man to vote for. Someone who's one of Us.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-06 03:20 pm (UTC)(Although I don't believe undocumented kids have been granted citizenship, they have the ability to apply for 2 year work visas so they are here legally and it buys them some time while they try and get the dream act back into play since the GOP blocked it.)
no subject
Date: 2012-09-06 06:26 pm (UTC)And that brings up a point about people going "I like Obama but..."
Clooney was right: people who tend to vote Democratic eat their own. We tend to be one-issue voters and not support our candidate, even when it's in our own interests. We do this "Yes, but...."
no subject
Date: 2012-09-06 07:40 pm (UTC)I'm 95% positive I've heard stories of families being torn apart under those exact circumstances. (I could possibly be miss-remembering details. I grew up in Arizona, sometimes I forget what's myth and what's fact.)
Immigration is admittedly low on my radar, though. I've been heavily focused on lgbt and womens issues and the PPACA, on which Obama wins across the board.
And yeah, I have my own moments of I like Obama but... but for the most part I tend to recognize that he's human and no president is perfect and he's far and above a better option than any other option.
I really really enjoyed last nights DNC presentations. Have you seen the factcheck article on Clinton's speech? It's a remarkably stark contrast to the Ryan article.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-08 12:42 am (UTC)No, I haven't seen the factcheck article -- sounds like a must-read! *goes to do just that*
no subject
Date: 2012-09-08 01:14 am (UTC)No, I haven't seen the factcheck article -- sounds like a must-read! *goes to do just that*