"We have to fix our SOULS - Our souls are BROKEN"
We have lost the understanding that in a democracy, we have a mutual obligation to one another — that we cannot measure the greatness of our society by the strongest and richest of us, but we have to measure our greatness by the least of these. That we have to compromise and sacrifice for one another in order to get things done. That is why I am here, because Barack Obama is the ONLY person in this who understands that. That before we can work on the problems, we have to fix our souls. Our souls are broken in this nation.Via "Michelle Obama's Vision of America" (Hugh Hewitt, February 15, 2008).
Friday, February 22, 2008
Barack Obama WILL REQUIRE YOU to work. He is going to DEMAND that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation and that you move out of your comfort zone. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage.
Barack will NEVER ALLOW YOU to go back to your lives as usual – uninvolved, uninformed – you have to stay at the seat at the table of democracy with a man like Barack Obama not just on Tuesday but in a year from now, in four years from now, in eights years from now, YOU WILL HAVE TO BE ENGAGED.Michelle Obama, campaign speech at UCLA (links to video, audio @ Protein Wisdom)
"I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear"
Barack will NEVER ALLOW YOU to go back to your lives as usual – uninvolved, uninformed – you have to stay at the seat at the table of democracy with a man like Barack Obama not just on Tuesday but in a year from now, in four years from now, in eights years from now, YOU WILL HAVE TO BE ENGAGED.Michelle Obama, campaign speech at UCLA (links to video, audio @ Protein Wisdom)
"I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear"
BALTIMORE — Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings has held elected office for more than a quarter-century, so he's seen his fair share of politicians come and go.
But apparently he's never seen one quite like Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
"This is not a campaign for president of the United States, this is a movement to change the world," he said as he introduced Obama last week in Baltimore.
"You do not get 13,000 people in this auditorium with a campaign."
As over the top as it may have sounded, Cummings' sentiments weren't all that unusual.
Because when it comes to Obama, hyperbole seems to be the rule, not the exception.
His charms seem tough to resist, even for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
"He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere," George Clooney told talk show host Charlie Rose.
"I'll do whatever he says to do," actress Halle Berry said to the Philadelphia Daily News. "I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."
The true believers can “Obama-ize” just about anything. Knitters for Obama crochet for him, Runners for Obama jog for him, and Hold 'Em Barack, well, they bet on him.
In Chicago, a recent art exhibit showed works depicting the candidate on canvas, paper and even in animated videos.
On Etsy, a crafts auction website, you can buy Obama jewelry, paintings, and even a homemade Obama Valentine. The card shows a sketch of the candidate with the text, "I want to Barack your world."
Last week, Obama attracted a crowd of 19,000 to the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Four days earlier, more than 18,000 voters filled Seattle's Key Arena to see him.
The 3,000 that didn't get in waited in the cold for over an hour to hear a roughly two-minute version of his stump speech.
When Obama finally took the stage, the crowd roared so loudly that a local reporter in the press section covered her ears.
At an Omaha, Neb., rally the day before, supporters leaned perilously over railings, screaming and crying, trying to touch Obama as he passed.
During both speeches, a supporter yelled out, "I love you." This happens fairly frequently and Obama is always ready with a smooth answer.
"I love you back," he says, with a quick, almost cocky smile.
The campaign works hard to cultivate the rock star image. After he's introduced, Obama routinely waits about 30 seconds to enter the arena.
The excitement grows, until his entrance is perfectly timed with the soaring chords of U2's “City of Blinding Lights.”
"I can't really verbalize exactly what it is about him," says Avila. "Part of it is just beyond explanation."Lisa Lehrer, Politico Feb 20, 2008.
But apparently he's never seen one quite like Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
"This is not a campaign for president of the United States, this is a movement to change the world," he said as he introduced Obama last week in Baltimore.
"You do not get 13,000 people in this auditorium with a campaign."
As over the top as it may have sounded, Cummings' sentiments weren't all that unusual.
Because when it comes to Obama, hyperbole seems to be the rule, not the exception.
His charms seem tough to resist, even for some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
"He walks into a room and you want to follow him somewhere, anywhere," George Clooney told talk show host Charlie Rose.
"I'll do whatever he says to do," actress Halle Berry said to the Philadelphia Daily News. "I'll collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear."
The true believers can “Obama-ize” just about anything. Knitters for Obama crochet for him, Runners for Obama jog for him, and Hold 'Em Barack, well, they bet on him.
In Chicago, a recent art exhibit showed works depicting the candidate on canvas, paper and even in animated videos.
On Etsy, a crafts auction website, you can buy Obama jewelry, paintings, and even a homemade Obama Valentine. The card shows a sketch of the candidate with the text, "I want to Barack your world."
Last week, Obama attracted a crowd of 19,000 to the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
Four days earlier, more than 18,000 voters filled Seattle's Key Arena to see him.
The 3,000 that didn't get in waited in the cold for over an hour to hear a roughly two-minute version of his stump speech.
When Obama finally took the stage, the crowd roared so loudly that a local reporter in the press section covered her ears.
At an Omaha, Neb., rally the day before, supporters leaned perilously over railings, screaming and crying, trying to touch Obama as he passed.
During both speeches, a supporter yelled out, "I love you." This happens fairly frequently and Obama is always ready with a smooth answer.
"I love you back," he says, with a quick, almost cocky smile.
The campaign works hard to cultivate the rock star image. After he's introduced, Obama routinely waits about 30 seconds to enter the arena.
The excitement grows, until his entrance is perfectly timed with the soaring chords of U2's “City of Blinding Lights.”
"I can't really verbalize exactly what it is about him," says Avila. "Part of it is just beyond explanation."Lisa Lehrer, Politico Feb 20, 2008.
"I felt this thrill going up my leg . . ."
I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often. No, seriously. It's a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment.Chris Matthews, MSNBC [MP3 Recording Video February 12, 2008.
I have to tell you, you know, it's part of reporting this case, this election, the feeling most people get when they hear Barack Obama's speech. My, I felt this thrill going up my leg. I mean, I don't have that too often. No, seriously. It's a dramatic event. He speaks about America in a way that has nothing to do with politics. It has to do with the feeling we have about our country. And that is an objective assessment.Chris Matthews, MSNBC [MP3 Recording Video February 12, 2008.
One would have to have a heart of stone not to be moved by Obama on the stump. It's not so much by what he says but it's the way the crowds respond to his words. When 16,000 people, without prompting, start shouting some of his keynote phrases as he delivers them, you know something special is going on.
The atmosphere at his events is such that one wonders if Obama is about to walk out with a basket with some loaves and fishes to feed the thousands.- Washington correspondent Geoff Elliott. The Australian February 9, 2008
The atmosphere at his events is such that one wonders if Obama is about to walk out with a basket with some loaves and fishes to feed the thousands.- Washington correspondent Geoff Elliott. The Australian February 9, 2008
"the source of new hope on a parched land -- as rain from a Kenyan cloud"
Barack Obama, . . . has come like rain on American politics.
His campaign theme - 'the source of new hope on a parched land' is a cleansing agent in a land weighed down by crusted blood of Iraqis murdered in their own territory by Americans who came to save them from "weapons of mass destruction".
Obama has come as rain from a Kenyan cloud that seeded in the plains of Iowa and fell in Hawaii, but refuses to be tied down as just another "black candidate" pushing primarily for the restoration of justice for African-Americans by reminding white America of its guilt.
Instead, he insists on the freedom of a collective American Messiah who has come to mobilise all disillusioned children of American democracy to open up a new frontier in politics. This is Obama's venture of building hope using the power of hope.
Like rain, Obama must rouse new winds that will blow away drought, which drought will not depart without a fight. . . .
Barack Obama is uniquely placed to support the fruition of this dream knowing, as he now does, the sublime challenges of conducting political rain on a scale as grand, in terrestrial and human space, as the United States of America. May his rain come down to sprout a Union of Africa. To which some Nigerians say "Amen."Okello Oculi, Daily Monitor AllAfrica.com. February 20, 2008.
His campaign theme - 'the source of new hope on a parched land' is a cleansing agent in a land weighed down by crusted blood of Iraqis murdered in their own territory by Americans who came to save them from "weapons of mass destruction".
Obama has come as rain from a Kenyan cloud that seeded in the plains of Iowa and fell in Hawaii, but refuses to be tied down as just another "black candidate" pushing primarily for the restoration of justice for African-Americans by reminding white America of its guilt.
Instead, he insists on the freedom of a collective American Messiah who has come to mobilise all disillusioned children of American democracy to open up a new frontier in politics. This is Obama's venture of building hope using the power of hope.
Like rain, Obama must rouse new winds that will blow away drought, which drought will not depart without a fight. . . .
Barack Obama is uniquely placed to support the fruition of this dream knowing, as he now does, the sublime challenges of conducting political rain on a scale as grand, in terrestrial and human space, as the United States of America. May his rain come down to sprout a Union of Africa. To which some Nigerians say "Amen."Okello Oculi, Daily Monitor AllAfrica.com. February 20, 2008.
"... a light will shine through that window, a beam of light will come down upon you, you will experience an epiphany ... and you will suddenly realize that you must go to the polls and vote for Obama" - Barack Obama Lebanon, New Hampshire.January 7, 2008.
It is plain to see that there are many misguided people who think that Barack Obama is the one who will bring happiness, prosperity, and peace to the whole world--including Barack Obama, believing that he is chosen for such a time as this.