A New Day

I remember the first time that I heard Barack Obama speak. Like many others watching the 2004 Democratic Convention subsequently commented, I remember feeling a sense of hope, the hope that we could once again be inspired by a courageous leader.

As Bush's divisive 2nd term continued to divide an already divided country, and as America became better known for torturing than for protecting people from such indignities, I remember commenting that we needed to get our country back and thinking that Obama had the potential to be the person to lead us out of that dark place, to restore our greatness.

I remember standing in line at the XL Center in Hartford on Super Tuesday, squeezing into a spot along the railing to hear Obama speak, and daring to hope that it would happen, that he would survive the exhausting gauntlet that our politics has become and become our next President.

And here we are.

This morning, I went to a polling station with my sons, waited in line and talked to them about how unique our democracy truly is. My younger son, having been admonished by his mom and dad not to make a ruckus in the line, asked me, "Dad, if I whisper, can I cheer for Obama while we stand in line?" And he did.

"Obama, Obama, Obama," barely audible.

Affter about a half hour in line, we filled in the appropriate circles. Together, we slid my ballot into the scanner.

And as all the votes are finally counted, I allow myself to believe what I had only hoped for. I am thankful for the graciousness of Senator McCain in defeat. I am so hopeful about the opportunity that lies before us with Obama as our President, even as I am aware of the breadth of challenges that he faces, that we all face.

But, finally this day is here.

Yes. We. Can!

... and he sang

I was at Church with my kids this past weekend. My wife was stuck at work. My younger son was in the Church's basement with the Little Lambs program. I was at mass with my older son who is 7 and my daughter who is just over 1. She was a bit of a handful, but my son was doing his best to help keep her in check.

At one point in the mass, after the homily had ended, parishioners started to line up to receive the anointing of the sick. The musicians started up a traditional hymn called Healer of Our Every Ill. I took out the blue Gather Hymnal and turned to the song. My son looked up at me and said, "Dad, I want to sing with you."

The next 5 minutes were some of the most moving I've experienced. He sang with his beautiful voice which I have heard laugh and scream and cheer and yell, but never have I heard him sing with such purpose. I sang with him, but more quietly than I usually do, as I wanted to hear him. He sang along with me, reading the lyrics and hitting all the notes. I was in awe - in awe of him, in awe of the Spirit, in awe of my faith, in awe of my family.

I have always been so appreciative of my family and my faith, but it never hit home quite like when I went to Church that day, the piano started to play ... and he sang.

The Girl Effect

Angel Ride 2008 - This will be my 4th!

Many Voices - Same Chorus

OBAMA - This Time Must Be Different

I believe with all my heart and every ounce of my intellect that Obama is the one that this country absolutely needs at this point in time. We can't afford anything less. There is too much at stake.

This is an excerpt from Obama's speech last night in Nashua, NH:


"But the reason our campaign has always been different is because it's not just about what I will do as President, it's also about what you, the people who love this country, can do to change it.

That's why tonight belongs to you. It belongs to the organizers and the volunteers and the staff who believed in our improbable journey and rallied so many others to join. We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand thepower of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballot; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

And so tomorrow, as we take this campaign South and West; as we learn that the struggles of the textile worker in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas; that the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in America's story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea -

Yes. We. Can."