I thought posting about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign announcement would be fitting as my first post for my new ProgressiveU blog. BarackObama.com finally posted the video of Obama’s speech that took place Saturday morning, February 10th, 2007 in Springfield, Illinoison on his Web 2.0-savvy online campaign. You can see the full video there on BarackTV. It’s about thirty minutes; the audio/video quality isn’t perfect, but the energy of Obama’s address is worth the watch.
Fellow Illinois U.S. Senator Dick Durbin introduces Barack Obama and his family on stage. U2’s “City of Lights” starts playing in the background as Obama attempts to wave at every one of the 15,000+ supporters in the crowd, cheering with their signs despite the cold winter weather. Obama starts off his speech with several “You believe” statements about the possibility of improved change. He then recalls his journey to Illinois a couple decades ago when he moved to Chicago without knowing a soul there. Churches hired him as a community organizer, paying him a whopping $13,000 a year. He knew he could “play a small part in building a better America.” His job took him to some of the poorest neighborhoods, and he explained how it was there where he received his best education as well as learning the true meaning of his Christian faith. He became a civil rights lawyer, eventually leading him to Springfield where he “saw all that is America converged” and a potential “awakened electorate.”
He then officially announced his goal of becoming the next President of the United States. Supporters burst into shouts of “Obama! Obama!” Soon after his proclaimed candidacy, he spoke of his humble experience, robustly argued by the crowd. He said he knew that he had not “spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington, but I have been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change.” The crowd cheered in agreement.
After several references to Abe Lincoln, Obama goes on to talk about the failed leadership in America. The fact that “we’ve been told climate change is a hoax” and the blame for problems like Katrina are always placed on others (gays, immigrants, and other countries), distracts us from making concrete change. Obama says that we are through with these kinds of politics, which the crowd responded with more shouts of “Obama!”
One thing I particularly noticed and appreciated was the fact that Obama kept saying “Let’s be” and “We can” as opposed to “I plan to” or “I will.” He made a point to emphasize that the people themselves need to be a part of the plan for improved change. “Let’s be the generation that ends poverty in America” and ”let’s be the generation that says, right here, right now, we will have universal healthcare in America by the end of the next president’s first term!” He also stated his plan of bringing home all the troops in Iraq by March 2008. His final words relevantly exclaimed, “Let’s get to work.”
As he went into the audience to shake hands and hug supporters, more music (Jackie Wilson’s “Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher and Higher” and Whitehead’s “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now”) played in the background. Finally, they also played “Shout” by the Isley Brothers while freezing crowd members danced to stay warm.
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how i love Barack Obama & i can not wait until the next presidential elections. i'll finally be able to vote, but the more important reason is so i can see him into the white house.