Being (slightly) involved
Posted on February 6, 2008 - Filed Under Uncategorized
In line with yesterday being ‘Super-duper Tuesday,’ I thought I would post about our recent flirting with the political process. Barack Obama came to Boise this past Saturday to speak at a rally of his. (If you would like to see what we did, watch the video here.) I have to admit–it was pretty exciting to see and hear, in person, the man who might be President. The event was held at the Taco Bell Arena at Boise State University. This venue is able to hold roughly 14,000 people; not only was it completely full, 2000 people were turned away. We arrived at about 7:45 in the morning and found the end of one of the VERY long lines. It was also cool because of taking Maggie along. That little girl has done more in her short life than I could have ever imagined. Just in case you’re curious, here are some thoughts from each of us regarding the rally and what Obama had to say:
Jason: I really appreciate a dreamer. I try very hard to live by the idea that shooting for the stars is a good way to live because, even if you fail, you stand a good chance to landing on the moon. I also can’t stand the fact that as people get older, they seem to lose some of their ability to dream (myself included). Obama is definitely a dreamer; another way of saying it might be that he does not allow perceived reality to drown out his principles. That said, there’s also the practical side of things. For example, Saturday he talked about implementing universal health care by the end of his first term. That’s a great idea but if he has to work with a Republican Congress, he has little hope of making it happen. Also, I do worry about his relatively low level of experience, although that might be good in the sense of not being indoctrinated into the traditional politician mindset. Finally, I don’t like the whole ‘rock star’ phenomenon. Politics should not be a popularity contest; the celebrity aspect of his candidacy really bothers me.
Erin: It was pretty cool. I got teary-eyed a couple of times when Obama talked about hope. Us Democrats are thirsting for it since most of us have felt pretty hopeless for the last 8 years. (In the last election, some of the folks I worked with actually had to leave work early because they were so upset that ‘W’ won.) I liked what Obama stands for, as well as Clinton, but I am still a bit heartbroken that Edwards left the Presidential Race.
Maggie: I don’t know what we were doing with all those people in that gigantic room but I sure enjoyed all the clapping and cheering! Democrats are cool!
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i’ll keep my talks with maggie on the down low