Hope is a word that is thrown around a lot, and has been for some time now. "I hope I make a lot of money," or, "Let’s hope the Astros can win the next series." But there’s one man giving this often-overused word a real meaning – Sen. Barack Obama.
Other candidates have tried to do this. I’ve heard everyone from Sen. Hillary Clinton, D – N.Y., to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to Sen. John McCain, R- Ariz., out on the campaign trail say that they are bringing hope along with them into politics, and they are the only people who can effectively do that. The thing is, you can’t tell people you are their hope. It’s not something you say and then people seem to agree.
Obama has actually inspired hope. He has motivated a nation of people to give small amounts of money, time, energy and support to his campaign all because of his inspiring message that transcends gender, race, age and even political party. It was only after he spoke and genuinely inspired that the word "hope" naturally followed to describe what was going on in our country.
Our government has gotten away from its people, and this has only increased the feeling some have that their vote doesn’t count and nothing they do can change what Washington has become. One need not look any further than the incredibly low voter turnout we’ve experienced in previous elections. But this
election is different, and every Democratic primary and caucus thus far has had a historic and marked increase in turnout, especially among young voters – a generation often labeled as apathetic.
Having just turned 20, I have always thought of politics as inflexible, and no matter what, the same people – or at least the same types of people – would be elected to the same positions, and that the same things would happen year after year, generation after generation. But after hearing Obama’s keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, I knew he was a different politician, and I knew he was someone who would emerge again soon. Thankfully, he did, and in a big way.
The moment he announced in Springfield, Ill., that he would be running for president, I was ecstatic. I knew it would be a struggle for him because of the power of the political machine that is the Clintons, but something was different. To borrow from Obama himself, there was something stirring in the air, and I was exceedingly proud to be a part of it.
After winning the first caucus, Iowa, rising in the national polls and blowing the other contenders out of the water in South Carolina, his campaign has taken shape. Now that Obama has shown that he has the determination, skills and voice necessary to bring about change in our nation and unite America like others cannot, it is time we all stand together under the stars and stripes and declare our firm desire for a different president, our longing for hope and our need for Obama.
