Thursday, November 06, 2008

humility above all

here's the compulsory "BARACK OBAMA IS PRESIDENT-ELECT!" post, albeit 17hrs late. hehe.

my favourite part of his speech?

"Let us resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let us remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House – a party founded on the values of self-reliance, individual liberty, and national unity. Those are values we all share, and while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, “We are not enemies, but friends…though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn – I may not have won your vote, but I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."
- from obama's victory speech


thing is...his speech wasn't spectacular. it was the kind of speech you'd expect from someone who's been elected the next president of any country that has issues with unity. i'd expect najib razak to make a speech along the same lines next year (whether he does or not is another matter).

but obama did it so eloquently, confidently, humbly, that it was believable and it probably went straight to the hearts of americans.

that "yes, we can" victory speech is nowhere near as inspiring as martin luther king, jr's "i have a dream", or abraham lincoln's "gettysburg address", or sir winston churchill's "blood, sweat and tears", but it'll do in these times when positive, powerful words are far and few and people are mostly preoccupied with financial worries, social struggles and the on-going effects of war. not unlike the times when those speeches were made, of course, but still different in many ways.

anyway, i know close to nothing about american politics. however, i wish america all the best and i anticipate the (hopefully positive) impact president obama will have in foreign policy. it's a daunting task to patch up the mess the bush administration has left, but hey...yes, he can. no?

lishun at 5:43 AM

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