Poetic justice
“You campaign in poetry, but you govern in prose.”
Mario Cuomo, the Democratic governor of New York from 1983 to 1995
The First responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between two , the leader becomes servant and a debtor.
Leader do not inflict pain; they bear pain..
-Max De pree.
Barack Obama’s acceptance speech was deeply moving and inspiring. It had all the ingredients of a true leader. In my opinion, it is seismic shift. Hope he can live up to his own hype. Here is an excerpt.
I know you didn’t do this just to win an election and I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime – two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century
The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even one term, but America – I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you – we as a people will get there.
There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as President, and we know that government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And above all, I will ask you join in the work of remaking this nation the only way it’s been done in America for two-hundred and twenty-one years – block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand
- Barack Obama Acceptance Speech.
on 05 Nov 2008 at 10:58 pm 1.michele roohani said …
THE WORLD IS SMILING MY FRIEND!
from NYTime: Early on Wednesday morning, as news of Mr. Obama’s victory poured in from across the world, Balaji Samanthapudi, 36, a technology consultant, was jubilant in Bangalore, India. As the president of the Barack Obama Fan Club in India’s outsourcing mecca, Mr. Samanthapudi gushed optimistically about all that an Obama presidency would deliver.
“I’ve never seen such an inspiring leader before,” he said. “You can see the market prices going up. He is going to put a stop to terrorism completely. He is a very straightforward leader.” His fan club collected donations from a dozen people, mostly software engineers and management consultants, putting $4,000 in Mr. Obama’s campaign kitty. None of them are U.S. citizens but they urged their U.S. citizen friends and family to vote for Obama.
Satyaja Bedi, 39, sipping coffee mid-morning and struggling to listen to Obama’s victory speech at a noisy New Delhi cafe, had similarly outsized expectations. “It’s very good,” she said. “I think America should bounce back.”
At the American Center nearby, where big screen television monitors broadcast news of the election, Sukanya Bhardwaj, 19, a college student studying politics, said Obama’s victory was testament to the candidate’s abilities but also to the maturity of American voters. “It has become the greatest democracy,” she said. “It has proved it is ready for a black president.”
Nearly every major newspaper in the capital, New Delhi, had Obama vs. McCain on the front page. Television stations have broadcast nothing but American presidential election news all morning.
“The World Enters America” was the headline of the Hindustan Times lead editorial Wednesday morning, reminding the 44th president of the United States to be mindful of an interconnected world roiled by a financial crisis and two wars. “For America to chart these choppy waters, it will have to have a helmsman who understands and engages with the world on the world’s terms,” it urged.
The Indian Express, whose editorial pages had been fond of the Bush White House over the last couple of years, echoed how swiftly and decisively the next president would have to act. “The way the world has been enthralled by the contest is a message that the dominant sentiment, after the Bush presidency, is not so much anti-Americanism, but exasperation with the uses of American power and a concurrent belief that with adequate political will the superpower can repair its agenda for the greater global good.”
Some Indians used the occasion to introspect. Krishna Prasad, a magazine editor who runs a blog, churumuri.com, invited readers to consider when India could expect to elect a Prime Minister from its largest minority group: Muslims. He said he was surprised that more than a third of his roughly 600 respondents said they believed it was possible.
Rajendra K. Pachauri, the Indian chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, urged Mr. Obama to demonstrate a change in U.S. energy policy. “The US now has a unique opportunity to assume leadership in meeting the threat of climate change, and it would help greatly if the new President were to announce a coherent and forward looking policy soon after he takes office. There is every reason to believe that President Obama will actually do so. This should please people across the globe, because US leadership is critical for mounting global efforts to meet this threat effectively.”
on 06 Nov 2008 at 5:47 am 2.Sonya Rose said …
I had a dream a while back (several actually) with the Senator, now our new President…
I saw a silhouette of a man standing in the sunset on golden plains, almost as if it was his own Kingdom, a Chief. He wore a white Cowboy hat. I thought that it was US President George W. Bush but as I looked closer it was US Senator Barack Obama who was wearing the white Cowboy hat. When I told the dream to my oldest sister, she started laughing. Well, I blame many of our historians, writers, artists, and photographers of the past … much of our history was replaced by fiction; which was perceived to be fact until we entered the digital age, found out some real facts and it wasn’t an unusual dream to me at all. And, since I live out here in Hollywood, maybe, I already sensed something back then that he would be our next President.
The Cowboy hat has long been a symbol of strength, hard work, good deeds, and a way of defining outlaws. Cowboys worked real hard to place food on the table. They chose a lifestyle different than our own. They worked long hours day and night, taking care of the herd (symbolic of society), mending fences (symbolic of our lives, the economy…), fixing trucks and tractors (symbolic of our health, keep us going strong…), hauling stock (trading, commerce…) and helping a young person with their horse (helping the youth get a good start in life, a good education … give good advice … be their guide and show them a better way in today’s troubled world). And, finally, believe in God as our creator…
Hollywood depicted the cowboy hat to carry a message: According to the Western Film
Industry, a white Stetson was worn by the good guys; and the black Stetson (hat company since 1866) was worn by the bad guys. Maybe, the company can design a special modern day one for him, just for the sake of tradition.
Well, from the Wild West and Hollywood, here’s a salute to the next President of the US. I just pray God will keep him and his family in safekeeping. He’s surrounded by quite a few cowboys in black hats…
on 07 Nov 2008 at 11:18 pm 3.Dilip C Zaveri said …
On such a historic moment not only for America but for the world, a selfmade man coming from humble origin ,having all possible odds against him- could be elected as President of the world’s most powerful nation, America. Obama’s acceptance speech was not euphoric but resonated the ground realities prevailing in the US and world, his committment to tackle the issues with cooperation of his countrymen – clearly demonstrated to the world that there is hope.
on 18 Nov 2008 at 10:24 am 4.Sonya Rose said …
Thanks for sending “Seeking a Poet for the Great Mess of ‘08” Ajay. Not sure where I would begin. I’m not the smartest cookie to write about something of that nature … but, today, I sincerely reflected to the world around me, within me … and my dream (above). And, I, too, have a dream … and I’m afraid it is just a dream. I just became aware of today of the New Monetary System being currently established. You told me that perhaps now America might be a humbler nation under Obama. Perhaps, a more naïve nation as well or just blinded still by many things… Like my dream, this election came as no surprise. Obama was positioned for a long time in the media, why I must have seen him already as President. $750 million + all this free stuff, perhaps, 2 billion was spent on his time running. He got a lot of favorable coverage for a long time. I believe him to take care of the corporate elite; he wouldn’t be in this position if not. Currently, the markets appear calm; temporarily held together but something’s got a give. And our dollar may be doomed. This New World Reserve currency … this new regulation … this Trilateral World Currency … however, you may call it … a New Economic Order … a New World Order is not where I wish to begin to write a poem…it is the end to true free markets … and national sovereignty.