The Obama Factor

Barak Obama's rally, October 2008, Miami's Bicentennial Park

Standing amidst the ocean of people, squeezed a breath away from each other, inching slowly towards the metal detectors at Bicentennial Park on Miami's Biscayne Bay, i realized i was surrounded by a truly multi-ethnic crowd and oddly enough, that there was absolutely no tension, no pushing, no people complaining of how slow the line was going. This was the beginning of my coining the phrase, the "Obama Factor". Whenever you get this many impatient Americans together and make them wait to get in to any event, you are bound to see a scuffle or some pushing and people keeping to themselves with an awkward, uncomfortable tension. However today, there were people smiling, looking up, having conversations with people of other ethnicities not their own, truly mixing it up. There were Haitians talking to old Jewish ladies, Americans talking to Latinos, even a young Canadian man named "John John" who said he was named after John F. Kennedy and his brother was named after Robert Kennedy and that he was at the rally to support what he called, "the next Kennedy" for America. As we moved closer towards the metal detectors, the crowd increasingly got positive and excited as if we were going to a rock concert. People started chanting, "Obama, Obama" and I joined in loudly. I noticed a group of 3 young Haitian girls smiling, taking the scene in with complete awe and absorbing in disbelief that this many people of all races were chanting and believing in a man of their own color. A look of positive validation washed over their faces and a chill ran up my spine as well. This is the "Obama factor", that comes from his ability to connect with the people and for the people of America to finally feel that someone "gets them". That a politician can take a stand for them and attempt to try to change our country for the better and think of a better way to run things that aren't running anymore. To think out of the box instead of constantly trying to sell us the same old machine with a different wrapper. This is why Colin Powell endorsed him and so many Republicans have gone rogue to support him. It's because Obama has the ability to inspire hope and instill confidence that has been so lost in this country. For the first time in a year, i was feeling good about being an American and i actually had hope that we were finally moving forward as a country and not stuck in the same old muddy rut we have been for the last 8 years. It's basically boils down to this, the Republicans sell "fear" and the democrats sell "hope" between the two, I buy hope anyday. Why not believe in something positive when you are inundated by so much bad news, day to day for so many months? I believe in the "Pendulum Theory", when it swings one way and goes to an extreme direction, eventually the pendulum will swing back. I hope and pray that the pendulum will finally swing back on November 4th and that Obama will keep it swinging in the middle for years to come.

Now get off the internet and go out and VOTE!!!

Here's a link of a poll done worldwide on which candidate would win if the countries of the world could vote in our election: http://www.iftheworldcouldvote.com/results

Gallup poll done shows 3 to 1 of the world's citizen's favor Obama:

http://www.gallup.com/poll/111253/World-Citizens-Prefer-Obama-McCain-More-Than-3to1.aspx