A POLITICAL MOVEMENT, AN AUDACITY OF HOPE

Generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

—Barack Obama It was in November 2006 that Barack Obama first met with friends and

advisers to discuss what it would take for him to make a run for the presidency. For many at the meeting, Barack’s success at winning the nomination was a long shot, but the prospect of his run created great excitement for sure. As the group weighed such challenges as raising enough money, the toll it would likely take on Barack’s family, and the organization that would have to be built, the energy and interest were palpable. Barack was truly a rising star in politics, and his ability to compromise, inspire, and motivate was becoming well known. Few had forgotten his electrifying speech at the Democratic Convention in July 2004. And while he might

be a long shot, no one dismissed his ability or his chances to be the nominee for the Democratic Party. In February 2007, he formally announced his bid, after many discussions with the same friends and advisers and with his wife, Michelle. Once he began to campaign, there were fits and starts and bumps in the road, and mistakes. But there were also successes; his eloquence, his commitment and drive, and his motivational speeches gained attention and the momentum began to build.

A year after announcing his candidacy, Barack had a momentum that many speculated could not be stopped. He was ahead in delegate count and in the popular vote. Adam Nagourney wrote in the New York Times, on February 13, 2008, “If the election was one where a candidate wins by vir- tue of being seen as winning, the definition of momentum, it would mean that voters in future primary and caucus contests would be influenced by

the outcome of all the earlier contests.” 27 Still, Barack was not a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination by beating his rival Hillary Clinton. And whether he could win the presidency against the formidable Senator John McCain, who became the presumptive Republican nominee on March 4, 2008, no one knew. All this remained to be seen, but when Barack took his campaign to Wisconsin for the February 19 primary, he told an esti- mated crowd of 17,000 cheering supporters, “Tonight we are on our way.

131 We also know at this moment the cynics can no longer say that our hope

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is false. We have now won east and west, north and south, and across the heartland of this country we love. We have given young people a reason to believe, and brought folks back to the polls who want to believe again. And we are bringing together Democrats and Independents and Repub- licans; blacks and whites; Latinos and Asians; small states and big states, and Red States and Blue States, into the United States of America.” 28

Because of Barack Obama, something big has been stirring in Ameri- can politics; it has meant change and a new direction, an energy few had seen before; it has meant that perhaps there might be a new vision of America around the world, and it has meant an audacity of hope. To many, supporting the Barack Obama campaign meant feeling a patriotism they hadn’t felt for a long time or ever before, and it meant supporting a candidate who had the ability to unite Americans and give a new face to America around world. Representative Elijah Cummings may have said it best when he introduced Barack at a rally in Baltimore, Maryland, just before that state’s primary. He said, “This is not a campaign for the presidency of the United States. This is a movement.” 29

A POLITICAL MOVEMENT, AN AUDACITY OF HOPE