I had hoped to write a formal endorsement of Barack Obama before I go out of town tomorrow. Perhaps the patronage of one-half of The Goblin writing team could provide Obama a final push toward decisive victory in tomorrow's Super Tuesday contests - which include primaries and caucuses in 22 states and American Samoa. Alas, with my bags packed and work pressing in, a formal endorsement will have to wait; Obama's campaign will rely on other influential endorsements for now. To my great delight, he is getting them - from media moguls like Oprah Winfrey and Garrison Keillor (PHC is an institution), to politicians like Ted Kennedy (and several other members of the Kennedy family, including the First Lady of California, Maria Shriver) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), to media outlets as far-flung as the Boston Globe and the Fresno Bee, and organizations like MoveOn.org. More importantly, Obama is getting the support of voters, including a lot of young people and many others who are participating in the political process for the first time. (All four Democratic primary contests held so far have seen record turnout.) Last weekend, Obama campaign stops packed parks and theaters and stadiums: 18,000 in Minneapolis, 20,000 each in Wilmington, Delaware and St. Louis, Missouri, and 14,000 in Boise, Idaho - twice the number of Democrats who caucused statewide in 2004.
"Hope" and "Change" have been the watchwords of the Barack Obama campaign. Obama's slogan, "Yes we can," is illustrative of his optimism and his vision for the United States, which is based on shared responsibilities and shared rewards. Here he deliberately evokes the spirit of John F. Kennedy - "My fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." - and stands in contrast to his chief Democratic rival, whose campaign has been rightly criticized for focusing too much on what Hillary Clinton can do for her country. ("Yes she can," the crowd chanted at a Clinton rally last weekend.)
So, in lieu of an endorsement, I leave you with a music video created by Will.I.Am (from the Black Eyed Peas) and Jesse Dylan (Bob's son), and featuring John Legend, Common, Scarlett Johansonn, and a lot of famous people I don't recognize. I was skeptical when I first heard about the video, but it's actually quite good.
I'm not going to take the time to source all the Obama clips. But I think some come from his electrifying victory speech after the South Carolina primary...
Yes, we can. Yes, we can change. Yes, we can.
Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we carry from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we will hope.
And where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words -- yes, we can.
