Mr. Suave in my list

It has been 4 days since I heard Barack Obama talk to thousands (millions at home) of people when he accepted the presidential nomination for the Democrats. It has been 5 days, and yet, I can’t get forget wome of the points he raised. Yes, I know, this [he] doesn’t concern me personally, and I’ve been trying to forget his speech. But watching this charismatic man speak has made some of his words stick in my brain.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country. We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President – when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.  We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job – an economy that honors the dignity of work.

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And as someone who watched my mother argue with insurance companies while she lay in bed dying of cancer, I will make certain those companies stop discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.

[AMEN!].

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Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave, because nobody in America should have to choose between keeping their jobs and caring for a sick child or ailing parent.

[Nobody in the Philippines, too, Mr Obama.]

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And Democrats, we must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.” Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair. But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility – that’s the essence of America’s promise.

[Yes, we can blame only so much on the government. We must learn that we, as individuals, also have responsibilities.] 

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 We may not agree on abortion, but surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country. The reality of gun ownership may be different for hunters in rural Ohio than for those plagued by gang-violence in Cleveland, but don’t tell me we can’t uphold the Second Amendment while keeping AK-47s out of the hands of criminals. I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination…This too is part of America’s promise – the promise of a democracy where we can find the strength and grace to bridge divides and unite in common effort.

[A bit idealistic, but I, too, believe that we can become united despite our differences. There will always be that unifying thread that will keep us together.]

 ***

America, we cannot turn back. Not with so much work to be done. Not with so many children to educate, and so many veterans to care for. Not with an economy to fix and cities to rebuild and farms to save. Not with so many families to protect and so many lives to mend. America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone

Reading his speech is definitely much more different than hearing Obama actually deliver it. He is a charismatic man with lots of energy and promise. I was awed by he way he spoke that I was actually convinced to vote for him if I was asked to vote on the spot, right there and then, until I realized I can’t vote for him because I’m not an American citizen. So I just came to the conclusion that either he really cared for America or his acting skills and his ghost writers are really, really good. Save that I was actually hoping that Hillary Clinton finally break the Glass Ceiling, I might acutally root for him to win.

November 4 is approaching, and until then, we will all be left wondering if he can walk his talk!