Yea America!!

Happy Birthday to Alan! (Yesterday)

Today I (Christina) was able to go with my friend Sarah to see Barack Obama speak. It was a great experience because I didn't know much about Obama and I was able to hear from him what he stands for- in his own words. I kind of got disinterested in the election this year because it seemed like everyone had pretty much the same ideas and all I was hearing about were scandals and rumors (which I can live without) so I didn't bother to educate myself about it all that much. 

I liked hearing Obama speak. He didn't resort to tearing down his opponents (which I personally cannot stand) and he seemed very personable, down to earth, and frankly like a nice guy. I have to say that I was impressed. When the announcer guy announced him he announced him as "The next president of the United States of America." Everyone in the whole place stood and cheered as he walked into the room-- it was an exciting thing to be a part of. No matter who you are rooting for, you  have to admit that this is an exciting process!

If you are wondering what is was like I'll tell you (if not, you can probably stop reading this now). He spoke for about an hour and took questions at the end. It was a town hall type meeting so the crowd really wasn't that big. Obama seemed very charismatic, funny, intelligent and seemed to really care for the American people. He said he would help people get health coverage (ever since I got really sick a few years ago this has been a big issue for me), give money to college students (4,000 a year in exchange for community service and other things--what college kid would pass that up?), end the Iraq war, give teachers better salaries, give all kids better educations (by ending NCLB), give tax cuts to companies that invest in America instead of shipping their work overseas, work on renewable energy technologies...to name a few. For me he really painted a beautiful and hopeful picture of the future of America-- for everyone. I think that this experience has left me grateful to be an American, grateful for change, grateful that we can choose our leaders. I feel very hopeful and optimistic for our future and what we can accomplish.  Go Obama!

If anyone is interested here is the link to his page.