The Virtual Legal Assistant, Inc. - Aretha Gaskin

One More Campaign

He did it!

Not many thought he could prevent Hillary and the Big Dog from taking the nomination, but here he came, on June 4, bouncing up on stage in St. Paul, in the very room where the Republicans will convene in months to come, fist-bumping lovingly with his wife, and letting the cheers soak in.

Barack Obama brings so much to the general election.

He is the hope of generations of African-Americans that finally the USA has turned a corner and is ready to proudly display its diversity to the world.

He is a symbol of the young enfranchised, who seem ready to make a serious impact on the direction of the nation by turning out in decisive numbers in November.

He becomes, after a meteoric career-rise, the standard-bearer of a Democratic Party eager to refurbish its image, and provide an alternative to the Republican definition of security and prosperity.

He becomes the newest champion of collective rights, of democracy as shared success and freedom, rather than the Republican reliance on the individual’s well-being and the sanctity of corporate rights.

How can anyone be prepared for a walk down such a path, at the end of which are the gravest responsibilities coupled with larger expectations than any recent candidate has been burdened with?

His campaign correctly understood that what America wants is change, because we all agree things are not going well.

What kind of change will Barack Obama bring, by symbolism, by force of character, by skills we haven’t seen yet?

We will know soon enough.  In the meantime, it is a special time in the USA.

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Obama and the Racial Divide

With the eloquence we are all now used to, Barack Obama’s recent speech in Philadelphia gave yet another indication that he intends not to walk away from the challenges of our time.

Faced with the incendiary remarks of his pastor, and their instant dissemination in the press, he used the opportunity to present himself and his campaign as a new response to the need to close the racial divide in America. 

Many before him have been able to paint a clear picture of the problem without offering a workable solution.  Indeed, he also characterized himself as an “imperfect” vessel for the task.  But he did admonish both sides to look at the mistakes in their positions and assumptions, and in so doing realize the common ground that has always existed, and the exploitation both sides have been subject to.

One can only hope that such a stance will propel a more meaningful dialogue in this area, because fresh approaches to cooperation are as desperately needed as the solutions themselves. 

That is the real excitement of this campaign.  Critics talk about rhetoric being the engine, but it’s really the idea that we all can come up with a different and productive way of running our country, and presenting ourselves to the world.  Nobody’s talking about a world or a country without problems, without arguments, just without needless deaths, and conflicts with no end, and where an effort to get at the root causes of intractable situations can be made.

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Mrs. Obama

I wanted to watch Larry King Live the other night, because the guest was Michelle Obama.  After all the coverage of her husband recently, I was interested to hear her views on an election that, at the time of the interview, was clearly turning in her husband’s direction.

She is a hospital executive and a Harvard law graduate, a protective mother of two who has her children enrolled in a private school very close to her Chicago workplace, and who, at one point, tried to talk her husband out of the enormous step of running for president because “that’s my job.”  Speaking with a gentle lisp and a confident manner, she showed a strong grasp of the realities of the political life and was convincing when describing herself as facing many of the same struggles as any working mother.  She says that when she addresses campaign audiences, she focuses on the “unfairness” and “inequality” that cry out for the kind of change her husband represents.  She was also complimentary toward recent rival John Edwards in a way that suggests Edwards might again be on a Vice Presidential short list.

When asked about her husband’s personality, she admiringly called him “consistent”, noting his perfect attendance at parent-teacher conferences and how he makes time to be with her and their children despite a campaign schedule that would almost preclude it. 

Relaxed and direct, Mrs. Obama said she “looked down every dark road” before the Obamas decided to venture toward the presidency, and so she doesn’t dwell on “what could go wrong.”   She said that one of the beauties of an Obama presidency would be that her husband is a person who is open to change when he recognizes he has made a mistake and does not follow a leadership pattern that stubbornly holds onto bad decisions.  Which she knows from wifely experience.

“Can his mind be changed?” asked King.

Michelle Obama was quick with a smile.

“Hey, I change it every day,” she said.

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Obama: The Next Step

What an exciting campaign season!

Super Tuesday was an amazing pageant of states and percentages and opinions and projections, and Barack Obama came out of it behind in the delegate count, ahead in fundraising and focused on more big-count delegate state primaries coming up soon.  Here in New Jersey, Hillary won by 110,000 votes (54%-44%), but Obama captured a greater number of states throughout the country, and clearly demonstrated a nationwide appeal.

With the field narrowed, Obama will now get a closer look from us all.  More than one observer has commented that Obama’s success in getting the voters’ attention and then convincing them that he is a serious candidate still does not guarantee him the nomination.  Now the task is to show he is electable.

So the question is: How strong is this message of change?  Before casting a vote in November, voters will want to believe in the substance of Barack Obama, beyond his undeniable and most welcome gift for inspiration.  More than one promising politician has learned that the same Americans who show hunger for change just as easily show distaste for sacrifice and the “details’ of change. 

I, for one, agree with those who see Obama as “the right man at the right time” who has caught on to the spirit of a nation tired of war and recession and fear, and given it a voice.  But more than that, he is the face of a diverse America moving forward together.  Finally, the Democrats present the nation with living symbols of their politics of inclusion—a Black man and a white woman and ask for its vote. 

What a remarkable journey this has been to watch as Obama attempts to become the leader of our land and what a moment in history awaits us if the Democrats prevail.

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Obama’s New America

I’m not alone in watching the rise of Sen. Barack Obama, of course, but in recent days, things have gotten serious.

The latest developments are the op-ed piece in the New York Times by Caroline Kennedy, wherein she credits her children and their generation for making a connection for her between Obama and the sense of hope and excitement her own father brought to the country when she was a little girl. 

Endorsements come and go, but this is a rare public statement by a female Kennedy in a race where the female candidate has even been cordially embraced by the Kennedys. 

As someone who has chosen an entrepreneurial career, I am enjoying the Obama candidacy as a refreshing symbol of openness to the new and the innovative.  We are in a time of rapid change, enabled by constant developments in many technological areas.  In many ways, it is a confusing time, but there is one aspect of the changes that is recurrent:  communication.  The new phones compel people to talk for hours.  The new social websites can rapidly publicize a video or event.  We’re undeniably coming together.  Now the task is for everybody to start paying attention to the big picture, the big problems, and realize we own them.

Which is where a President of the United States comes in.  Barack Obama talks about change in a way that may translate into a new face for America to show the world, should he be elected.  His very presence—young, Black, a prudent conciliator -- will signal an America that has grown from its sometimes parochial stance of the first-world superpower that is the best at everything and a moral arbiter and enforcer to a gifted nation whose enormous wealth comes with an obligation to lead and inspire.   

If nothing else, the virtual entrepreneur, the dot.com. revolutionary, the influential bloggers, all embody a new spirit of independence and individual achievement.  Can this spirit, that has accomplished nothing less than a revolution of the conduct of business and social networking, hold the key to unifying a fractured world?  And is Obama the pioneering leader such a time calls for?

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Fired Up

Congratulations to Barack Obama, his candidacy now well launched with a win at the Iowa caucuses on his mission to transform America. 

A more interesting candidate has not come along in many election cycles, and if he gains credibility with strong showings in primaries to come, so too will the reality of an urbane black man leading the nation toward maybe its first real understanding of the wider world.  The symbolism of Obama is that he is the face of a new America, still strong and rich and a leader and a haven.  But maybe now also a nation reflecting diversity as an identity, not just a convenient badge.  The hope is that a President Obama would not be an anomaly, but the pioneer symbol of a mature nation, capable of finally embracing its multifaceted culture and making it work in harmony.  And at the same time, neutralizing forever those who would cling to old ways as the only orderly way of life. 

The 46-year old, first term Senator spoke of hope in a predominantly white state that showed a clear preference for him.

“They said this day would never come,” he said. “They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided, too disillusioned to ever come together. But on this January night at this defining moment in history, you have done what the cynics said we couldn’t do.”

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Oprah on the Trail – Part II

This weekend saw the long-awaited arrival of Oprah on the campaign trail for Sen. Barack Obama.

“Think about where you’d be in your life if waited when people told you to,” she told a South Carolina crowd of over 20,000 in the University of South Carolina football stadium, in reference to assessments of Obama that focus on his relative lack of experience.  She received similar enthusiasm in Iowa and New Hampshire campaign stops.

Oprah’s value, most political analysts agree, is a unique ability to draw attention to the candidate.  Beyond that, Obama will rise or fall on his ability to convince voters of his ability and ideas.  In South Carolina, it worked well, as Oprah connected well with fellow native Southerners, and Obama reminded his audience he was “Fired up.  Ready to Go.”

The Boston Globe article describing the events had an interesting perspective:

“The events put Obama side-by-side with an African-American figure who already is what he aspires to be: a strong black leader who also manages to transcend race, and who has attained power by finding a new approach to negotiating an entrenched system. And just as Oprah has created a media empire by focusing on the universal - love, spirituality, and overcoming obstacles - Obama hopes to win the presidency by creating a new “politics of hope” by “restoring our sense of common purpose.”

“I think there is a philosophical and ideological perspective that draws them together,” said Susan Carroll, senior scholar at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. “It’s not necessarily liberal or conservative; it’s really, ‘This is a new way of thinking.’”

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Oprah on the Trail

The Oprah/Obama political partnership is picking up steam.

Barack Obama’s campaign got the ball rolling with a recent press release long awaited by the faithful:

“The Obama for America campaign today announced that Oprah Winfrey will join Barack Obama for a tour through three early voting states on December 8th and 9th. Winfrey and Obama will hold two events in Iowa, one in South Carolina, and one in New Hampshire.  All events will be free and open to the public.”

This is significant in Iowa because:

--Oprah viewers are primarily women, who are also the majority of participants in the Iowa caucuses.

--Oprah brings attention to Obama beyond the political activists, early in the campaign season.

University of Iowa professor Cary Covington said, “Oprah’s a home run.”  She will “generate a lot of enthusiasm among folks who other wise weren’t paying attention.”

Dan Balz of the Washington Post notes the height of the “celebrity factor” in a race that features both Oprah and a certain former President of the United States, one of the most dazzling pairs of political surrogates in some time.

The coolness toward Obama that was creeping into Obama media coverage is receding, and according to Maureen Dowd of the Times, who has been prominent among the Obama skeptics, “responding to his more combative style, the press has re-launched him, giving him a second chance to shine…”

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Politicians and Alternatives

Entrepreneurs who run small businesses, like virtual assistants have benefited in Illinois, thanks to Presidential candidate Barack Obama.

As a state senator in 2000, Obama heard about a group of black independent professionals called the Alliance of Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs and helped them in various ways to get business from state pension boards and other governmental groups.

While he acknowledged receiving subsequent donations to his presidential campaign, he scoffs at the notion of a “quid pro quo.”

“The suggestion that these pioneering leaders would need my help or anyone’s help in order to succeed is troubling, to say the least,” he said.  He promises to bring his pro-entrepreneur attitude with him should he gain the White House.

The awareness of the virtual professional of the attitudes of local officeholders toward small business can make a critical difference in overall visibility and the quality of networking.

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