Why Barack Obama?

On August 25^th, 2008, Representative James Leach, a life-long Republican, addressed the Democratic National Convention. His words are among the most profound ever spoken by a political figure: at once damning of the flaws of self-centered wanton ignorance and myopic partisanship that have divided the United States and today have so polarized the people of this land that the once unthinkable prospect of an end to the free exchange of ideas now threatens to become reality, and acknowledging the many challenges, including flaws within our own society, that we, as Americans, united under mutual cause, have overcome as one people, one nation, standing together.

Like him, I have long stood firm in my belief that only through mutual respect and cooperation can the United States continue to be the great nation we know that it can be. We are a nation that believes in freedom for all, not just for the dominant, whether they be only a few or a majority, to dictate to the rest. We believe in the freedom to love, in the freedom to live, the freedom to share our ideas, and the freedom to seek our own happiness within this great experiment called democracy.

For each of us, freedom is something precious, even though it is all too often taken for granted. Freedom is also something fragile, a delicate balance between the guarantees of fairness for all and the liberty of each individual. In this place, we are free to live as we wish, but we are not free to cause harm to our fellow citizens, or infringe on their rights.

Once, we understood these things. Once, these principles were at the very core of what it meant to be American. Once, the debate between and within the parties consisted entirely of how best to fulfill that promise of our Republic to our people.

That is the promise of change offered by this year's Democratic nominee, so eloquently stated by a true Republican: a return to the promise of America. Once more, we can be One Nation, one people, living in the greatest country on Earth - one with Liberty and Justice for All.

Many of us are critical of one or both candidates, vowing to withhold our votes, because of certain isolated mistakes those mortal men have made; of them I ask: Who is the perfect candidate that we should vote for? Many of us would choose to vote, but to vote out of anger, casting a ballot for a candidate we do not believe in as an act of revenge against our own parties for some symbolic - and irrelevant - slight; of them I ask: What is truly important to you? Many of us would vote based on circumstance alone, be it for reasons of race, or wealth, or the struggles of days long past; of them I ask: Is it more important who a person is, or where he has been, than how he leads? Many of us would vote, not for a candidate, but against the other, because we are so cynical, so bitter, that we would actually choose to turn down that which seems too good to be true, whether or not it is; of them I ask: Is your faith in your own worth so worn that you cannot trust in your own ability - not any politician's, but your own - to make something better than what exists today, for yourself and for us all?

Of you all, I ask: Is there any single issue that is so important, any single decision either candidate promises to make, that is so vital that it outweighs the inspiration to work together, to live in peace with one another, and to, as one people, proud but respectful, opinionated but rational, help forge America into the nation it has always been destined to become?

To me, no policy, no campaign promise, and no party-line stance is so important as reestablishing that above all, beyond locality and party loyalty, we are all Americans first. We are a family, brothers and sisters, sharing a home that spans a continent and beyond. As one great leader once said, a house divided cannot stand. Once more, our house is divided. This November, let us all consider our family, those so dear to us that we would gladly lay down our lives to protect, even though we may have never met. This November, we are given the choice to elect another great leader, or to go on as we have for far too long.

That is what Barack Obama represents: the promise of true leadership. Not establishing universal healthcare, or a withdraw from Iraq, or enacting comprehensive energy reform, or any of the other articles of change he works toward - those are all issues of great importance, but none are so vital to the future of our land and the destiny of our children who will dwell here. If we fail to stand up, fail to reclaim control of our own lives, fail to remember that we don't need to wait on Washington to give us solutions, but can take action on our own, then we run the risk of never returning to the America of Jefferson and Lincoln and Roosevelt. By failing to restore the promise of America, we risk losing it for all time.

It is not who Barack Obama is or what he hopes to do as President that makes him so important, but what he represents. He cannot give us back what we have squandered, but his leadership can inspire us to return to our most important duty: to forge a more perfect union, by the people, for the people, and of the people. We can achieve our dreams, if only we believe in our own ability to do so.

This is what Rep. Leach had to say: www.associatedcontent.com/article/987824/james_leach_r_at_dnc_denver.html

Or, you can listen to the audio here: www.associatedcontent.com/audio/4434/rep_james_leach_r_at_dnc_denver_august.html