My Hope

Webster’s Dictionary defines hope as desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment. While that sounds nice and mostly accurate I don’t think words can accurately capture the true nature of hope. In reality hope is conceptual and circumstantial – it can everything from skeptical to euphoric…sometimes both. So, with hope in my head and heart, I voted for Barack Obama.

I’m still not entirely certain what President Elect Obama is going to do, but with the penchant politicians have for boldly stating that if elected I will - fill in the blank. Coupled with the reality that they usually don’t have the ability to actually - fill in the blank, perhaps the uncertainty of Mr. Obama’s course is, oddly, the most honest a politician has been in a long time. His personal demeanor and mastery of oratory made people that had often felt disenfranchised feel that they had a voice and that someone was listening. And let’s be clear, this was not just Democrats or minorities or young people – He reached out to those people who occupy the middle ground of American politics who have tired of the status quo. Without these people, no one can win the presidency - a fact many candidates have forgotten as they pander to the fringes of their respective parties. But I digress – the bottom line; more people across the board were engaged in the process than have been in a very long time and it was not John McCain who peaked their interest. Senator McCain deserves and has earned our national respect. He is a hero and a life-long public servant. Unfortunately he allowed his campaign to be run aground by the same political operatives that have given us the most unpopular president in over fifty years. Mr. McCain didn’t trust the people. He ceased to be a “maverick” and just became the same old horse. So, the people, with a measure of hope (somewhere between skepticism and euphoria) elected the man who gave them a fresh look and feeling to the presidency – a chance at renewal.

There is a portion of the President Elect’s speech delivered on Election Night that the press has largely ignored. It perhaps says more about Barack Obama than anything else he said during the course of the campaign. I resonated with me and I hope it will with you;

… And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress.
As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.
And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too.

I have always believed that the most important job of the President of the United States is to be the embodiment of us all, to represent us all in our own nation and too the world. By reaching out in his moment of victory, he proved he had earned the hope I invested in him with my vote.