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Barack Obama
- Apr 1, 2008 at 2:33 AM
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- Comments (7) Total Views (298) Everyone can see this journal post.
PrI spent my 21st birthday with the Obama campaign for Senate 4 years ago, traveling through Northwestern Illinois to campaign rallies. It was the first time in my politically-obsessed life that I had ever seen a politician beyond the local level show up in my area. Stephenson County, Illinois is a diehard Republican county; in fact, my mother and I used to joke there were 3 Democrats there total: the 2 of us and the party chair. All of the surrounding counties were red, too. More than that, they were sparsely populated rural areas. The largest city in the county was around 25000, second largest was under 3000. We just weren't important to most.
In that race, Sen. Obama was leading in the polls by something like 40 points, just blowing away his competition after a sex scandal had left the Republicans scrambling. He didn't have to come to our little corner of the state. He certainly didn't have to make mulitiple appearances there. In fact, he didn't have to make appearances much of anywhere by that point.
But he showed up. A rally that was expected to have maybe 50 people show in one room end up spilling throughout the building, closed circuit cameras set up with people waiting outside just to see this man speak for a few minutes. Hundreds came to see the one man who care enough about us to show up, who cared enough not to take us for granted.
When the Senator says he cares about middle-class America, I believe him. When he says he wants to make our lives better, I believe him. When he tells me that change can happen, I believe him.
Because in more than 20 years, 6 presidential races, and 8 Senate races, he was the only one who showed up.
Comments:
He does really care. Thanks for this post.
thanks for the post. he is truly the only candidate we can believe in.
Obama '08
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- candelariaymia
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