What really matters in this election
On Nov. 4, 2008, many Americans shared, for the first time, an unbelievable calm, pride, and, yes, hope in our country. For a moment, we dared to believe that a “colored” man born of a white American mother and black African father and raised by white grandparents could not only be president of these United States, but could be the very vehicle of hope and change from what we, as a people, had been to what we could be.
President Obama has been the benefactor of many prayers over his tenure, because we all know that there are forces that will work to undo good.
The opposition to good had already set up the biggest obstacles to a successful presidency. The opposition lined up on the most extreme side possible, refusing to accept change, opposing anything that would help, even if it meant hurting the people who voted them into office.
But President Obama has not let us down, even if he has not fulfilled his own measure of hope. This country never before faced a looming depression which threatened to be worse than that of the 1930s, nor had this country experienced the worst depths of an inherited recession.
President Obama proved to be a determined leader who would follow the advice of reasoned economists, while trying to fulfill some of his biggest hopes and promises for this country. We can’t blame the president if he dared to hope that Democrats and Republicans could work together to put the greater good over selfish interests.
Instead, the Republican Party birthed the biggest temper tantrum in history: the Tea Party, who by its very name, represented an extreme desire to break away from the unity of hope and change that was before us. Collectively, they decided to make defeating President Obama their top goal. The Republicans contrived every device to get a majority to block anything that would make a successful presidency for Barack Obama. Yet, this very president found a way to carry out his commitment to those who dared to hope and believe in change. We applaud him. True to his beliefs, he tried but did not give in to the organized temper tantrum.
Republicans should not be rewarded for their behavior, which, among other things, led to lowering the nation’s credit rating, nor should they be given leadership over the progress made by President Obama.
With a few notable exceptions, the African American community has stood behind a president that it deems qualified and worthy of their support. We have denied our own special interests for that which is greater and better. Even the Congressional Black Caucus came to realize that Black America would not deny change and hope in exchange for special interests; that our interests would be best served if the man born for a time such as this was successful for all people.
Instead of a temper tantrum, we choose temperance, hope and prayer for a president we knew would be treated worse than any other in history.
In the next few days, we have the opportunity to give President Obama our vote of confidence for another term. He needs our support more now than ever before. Let’s not be fooled by offers of jobs and pie in the sky by those who talk the talk but can’t walk the walk.
We think that America has moved on from hatred and division to embrace what is good and better, but the last four years have shown us otherwise. Choose to be on the right side of history and to be better. You will never lose with that.
President:
Barack Obama
U.S. House 12th District: Mel Watt
Who We Like
U.S. House 5th District: Elisabeth Motsinger
Governor: Walter Dalton
Lt. Governor:
Linda Coleman
State Auditor: Beth Wood
Agriculture Secretary:
Walter Smith
Insurance Commissioner: Wayne Goodwin
Labor Commissioner:
John Brooks
Secretary of State:
Elaine Marshall
State Superintendent:
June Atkinson
State Treasurer:
Janet Cowell
State Senate District 32: Earline Parmon
NC House District 71: Evelyn Terry
NC Senate District 31: Delmas Parker
NC House District 72:
Ed Hanes
NC House District 74: David Moore
NC House District 79: Cristina Vazquez
Forsyth County Commissioner District B: Gail McNeill
Register of Deeds: Norman Holleman
N.C. Supreme Court:
Sam Erwin IV
N.C. Court of Appeals: Linda McGee, Wanda Bryant and Cressie Thigpen
Forsyth County
District Court:
Amy Allred and Andrew Keever
