What I think was really great and amazing in the election was kind of the back story.
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We (the US) elected what I believe is the most even keeled and thoughtful man in a long long time. That we as a people saw through skin color and stupid comments to the person was amazing.
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He inspires blacks. He inspires young people. To hear him talk is to hear a true orator in the mood of pre-scandal Bill Clinton and pre-Alzheimer Ronald Reagan.
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But that wouldn't have been enough in this election. For the true middle of the country (and hard as it is to believe that I figure I am part of the middle of the country politically) to vote for him, he had to show more. He had to be stable and steady. We have had enough of government by over-reaction and policy driven by anger, revenge and volume. For the big middle we passed the stereotype of the Angry Black Politician (and Obama had to be wary of that every step of the way) to see the measured thoughtful man who happened to be African American.
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Right after the election I was annoyed by the constant hunting of the media to capture the comments and feelings of black Americans - almost to the exclusion of whites, latinos and asians. But I have since thought about it. If Catholics had been green skinned, they would have hunted them down after John F. Kennedy won. If McCain had won, they would have hunted down veterans. The media goes after the easy story like cracked on lemmings after a dealer has jumped over a cliff.
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Add to the easy media job is the true life story of honest progress blacks have made in this country since we have all been born. No one alive here was responsible for slavery, but if your relatives were slaves that is a lot of memory to hold on to and anger that is hard to let go of. I think this allowed a lot of African Americas (espically elder blacks) to watch those memories pass into a further distance , less fearful and hopefully less painful.
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It is a great time right now. I hope he grows into the job - as I don't think anyone is really "ready" to be President until they get there. All our Presidents grow and change in the position, shaped by events and unseen circumstances. I think we elected the man we felt would grow and respond the best.
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So good for us.