In front of 17,000 people at the old Illinois State Capitol where Abraham Lincoln delivered his House Divided speech 148 years earlier, Senator Barack Obama officially announced his entry to the 2008 Presidential race. In an expectedly well delivered speech, Obama made the crowd cheer. The speech is archived on his homepage and [currently] accessible via the homepage. Some of the promises he made:
*”let’s lay down broadband lines through the heart of inner cities and rural towns all across America”
*” Every single person willing to work should be able to get job training that leads to a job, and earn a living wage that can pay the bills”
*Let’s be the generation that says right here, right now, that we will have universal health care in America by the end of the next president’s first term.
*Let’s be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil.
*But let us also understand that ultimate victory against our enemies will come only by rebuilding our alliances and exporting those ideals that bring hope and opportunity to millions around the globe.
*It’s time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else’s civil war.
I thought his mention of laying broadband lines particularly interesting. His campaign has already been noted for its use of the web [on the use of Facebook]. His campaign’s usage of facebook, you tube and flickr are quite evident with prominent buttons lining the bottom of his homepage. The image above is used under a Creative Commons license via the campaign’s flickr. I should note that they wisely changed their “All Rights Reserved” copyright to a CC license allowing for usage, good move assuring that the official campaign shots be distributed widely and legally by folks like me. But not so hot is how overexposed the shot is – that 5D should’ve been at a slower ISO and the shutter speed a little faster, but hey, I’m sure their staff photog was scrambling around during the speech and you can’t be perfect every shot.
Obama’s podcast on Net Neutrality.
So here’s my view. We can’t have a situation in which the corporate duopoly dictates the future of the internet and that’s why I’m supporting what is called net neutrality. In the House, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Judiciary Committee reached different conclusions on network neutrality. Judiciary Committee members voted to protect net neutrality and commerce voted with the Bells and cable. That debate is going to hit the House floor this Friday [6/06]. In the Senate, Senators Snowe and Dorgan are leading the fight for net neutrality and I’ve joined in that effort.
He spoke of his arrival to Illinois some 20 years ago without a job, without money, without familial connections (like me and my girlfriend!) and taking a job, at a church, as a community organizer for $13k. The end of the first third of his speech was my favorite part:
The genius of our founders is that they designed a system of government that can be changed. And we should take heart, because we’ve changed this country before. In the face of tyranny, a band of patriots brought an Empire to its knees. In the face of secession, we unified a nation and set the captives free. In the face of Depression, we put people back to work and lifted millions out of poverty. We welcomed immigrants to our shores, we opened railroads to the west, we landed a man on the moon, and we heard a King’s call to let justice roll down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream. We’ve done this before.
His acknowledgment of the flexibility of our government is nice to hear; a drastic change from what this administration has shoved down our throats for the last 7 years. We’re currently experiencing mass job loss and rising poverty numbers. [Illegal and legal] Immigrants are being persecuted while being exploited and embraced. The moon, and NASA, are now afterthoughts. American justice mocked all over the world after the episodes in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib. Can Barack lead us to the mountaintop once again?
It’s going to be a big money dance. This Harper’s article give a little look into the money behind Barack. He’s no Clinton (take your pick of either one), but hey, when he says things like this:
And as people have looked away in disillusionment and frustration, we know what’s filled the void. The cynics, and the lobbyists, and the special interests who’ve turned our government into a game only they can afford to play. They write the checks and you get stuck with the bill. They get the access while you get to write a letter. They think they own this government, but we’re here today to take it back. The time for that politics is over. It is through. It’s time to turn the page, right here, right now.
You got to back that shit up. People are fed the fuck up with people saying they’re going to do this and not take this person’s/group’s money but then they do take the money and they do vote a certain way or allow certain bills to pass/not pass. Politics is ugly and politics has gotten uglier with the influx of money in the last couple decades.
It’ll be interesting to see which of his Congressional colleagues come out to back his run. Hillary already has that constantly scheming Schumer running around like a poodle saying this and that about his meal ticket. I’d take either one in the end. Whatever. I’d be content [NOT HAPPY] with either a non-white or a non-male candidate on the D side of the ballot. It’s about fucking time. It’s <del>shameful</del> a disgrace this country of ours has yet to embrace such a candidate for the highest office in our land. We have to grow up some to regain a seat at the rest of the world’s adult table.
Two more years to go. This is going to feel like an eternity, because it will be just that.
Photo credit: Barack Obama flickr
