Headed For The Future

Did you see Obama's 30 minutes? I did and I was moved to tears at several points. 33 million other viewers also watched it! It came with the hefty price tag, but as an Obama supporter and someone who donates to his campaign, I was happy to watch it and was truly moved by the stories told.
Obama laid out his plan, but more than that, he told the story of Americans who are facing decisions they didn't think they'd ever face. Here's his 30 minutes. Watching the whole thing is well worth the time.

I can say this: I love that I feel so much hope for our country when I hear Obama's plans. I love that Obama has been able to mobilize so many Americans to take action in their own neighborhoods to make them safer - that people I know have begun to move together to make life richer for their coworkers and cities. I love what I imagine this country will be able to do with a leader like Obama.

I stumbled across a video while working my graveyard job. It's of Ronald Reagan when he was running for his first term as president. Although the images have been added to this clip, the soundbite has not been altered.

Makes you think, doesn't it? hmmmmmmmmmmm.

Here's an appearance of Barack Obama on the Daily Show:



In May 2008, Time Magazine did a photo essay on Obama and there are some pictures I just love. I've included the captions made by photographer Callie Shell.

These two boys waited as a long line of adults greeted Senator Obama before a rally on Martin Luther King Day in Columbia, S.C. They never took their eyes off of him. Their grandmother told me, "Our young men have waited a long time to have someone to look up to, to make them believe Dr. King's words can be true for them." Jan. 21, 2008.


Waiting: Obama listens from a back stairwell as he is introduced in Muscatine, Iowa. It was his second or third speech of the day. Unlike many of the politicians I have photographed in the past, I find it is easy to get a photograph of Obama alone. He lets his staff do their jobs and not fuss over him. Nov. 7, 2007.


I loved that he cleaned up after himself before leaving an ice cream shop in Wapello, Iowa. He didn't have to. The event was over and the press had left. He is used to taking care of things himself and I think this is one of the qualities that makes Obama different from so many other political candidates I've encountered. Nov. 7, 2007.

Senator Obama was doing press interviews by telephone in a holding room between events. Sometime later as he was getting ready to begin his event, he asked me if I was photographing his shoes. When I said yes, he told me that he had already had them resoled once since he entered the race a year earlier. Providence, R.I., 3/1/2008.

My favorite picture in the group:

It was primary morning in New Hampshire. Barack and Michelle Obama had been campaigning separately all week. In the first few months of 2008 their private time seemed to consist of a few crossover moments in back hallways before rallies. This moment was rare and you could tell they just loved being able to sit together. Jan. 8, 2008.
Click Here to see the whole photo essay. It's fantastic.

Last: I stumbled across this little picture while meandering through the Internet. Here we find some Christians praying to change this ugly bear market to a bull market. I think prayer is quite powerful and utilize that open line of communication with God on a daily basis. I can say that I've even prayed for this country and the economic situation at least a few times in the last month.
That said, I was pretty amused and surprised to find this picture of the group praying over a bull statue on Wall Street.

Yikes! It conjured an immediate image from Exodus 32 - a little thing called the Ten Commandments.
Yowsers!