Most days I try to keep my feet on the ground, after all I hale from the Midwest and we are a stoic bunch not prone to emotional outbursts. Today I need to gush. I need to brag unabashedly like a teenager who just slept with a Jonas Brother (oh that’s right, they are chaste) well, then _____________ (fill in name of favorite teen obsession).
BARACK OBAMA. Mr. President. President Elect. Mr. Rock Star. I watched 60 Minutes last night, thanks to TiVo, and I am once again BLOWN AWAY.
Steve Kroft asked Barack to comment on what being the first African American elected to the White House meant. Without flinching, without throwing his shoulders back and puffing up his chest, he reflected on what this accomplishment meant to older AA’s like his mother-in-law. He talked about what it might symbolize for all people of color. He didn’t own it. He didn’t bask in it. He didn’t diminish it. It just was. It was OUR win. OUR night. OUR victory. People voted for his vision. His skin color was just the icing on the cake for the whole country. We as a nation decided that anyone could be president, not he.
Then Kroft asked Michelle what she whispered to Barack when they took the stage on November 4. She said “Wow, look at all these people.” Screaming, crying, elated people. Once again, Barack said he was humbled and taken aback by so many people who wanted and needed change. Not HIS people. Not HIS night. Not HIS moment.
The truth is that Obama’s humility, humbleness, reverence, respect, and vision are really just the perfect delivery mechanism to his real gold: Frickin’ INTELLIGENCE. Really frickin’ amazing intelligence with a big-ass serving of CURIOSITY to keep it growing. I know, crazy. Who would have thought you should be as smart as a rocket scientist (with social adeptness) to be president? Turns out, to ready himself for the job, Mr. President is reading about FDR’s first 100 days and Lincoln’s Presidency. I couldn’t help but wonder how Sarah Palin would answer “what are you reading now?” if she were in Obama’s shoes (shudder to think). Danielle Steel novels?
My President wants to stretch. He wants to absorb new information. He is the manager, the CEO who listens to the masses, consults the smartest people he can find, and then makes a hard decision without patronizing or apologizing. He LEADS. He makes mistakes. He takes calculated risks. He is our steady hand at the wheel of a ship that is caught in a perfect storm. Who knows if he will find a port, but I think he’s our best bet.
And did I tell you how FRICKIN’ SMART he is?
Lest you think I have gone completely Obama-Crazy: Here is a video from the onion parodying people like me.
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/obama_win_causes_obsessive?utm_source=embedded_video”>Obama
