Obama, Palin and the American Dream

What a year for politics.  I sat with tears in my eyes as I listened to a black man at the Democratic convention speaking about how he could finally tell his kids without reservation that they could grow up to be anything they wanted.   It was a historical night when Barack Obama accepted the nomination for president of the Democratic party .. he shattered the race barrier for the highest office in this country.  I found all the tears, cheers and personal stories of the older people who never thought they would see this day extremely riveting.

After soaring from the emotion from that night, the next morning brought Sarah Palin.   An unheard of (in the lower 48), self proclaimed soccer mom, 2 year mayor of a small town in Alaska was named as John Mc Cain's running mate!  Wow ... from obscurity to the national spotlight all in one day.  As more details came forth about Sarah Palin and her family the more wowed I became.  Not because of her readiness or lack of readiness to be president but because of the concept of someone who is young, has a less than perfect family life & history,  from a small town about as far from Washington as you can get, can be considered for an office that is a heartbeat away from our highest office.   That, to me, is a huge WOW.

The Chinese see the number 8 as a lucky number.  I am not sure if 8 is lucky or not, but I do think that the 2008 political race itself has given hope to more people of all creed, color and background that the American Dream really is possible than anything else could have.  You no longer have to spend a lifetime in politics, be a white male and have a Leave it to Beaver family to be president ... whew whew .. Whatever the outcome of the election, I think that we have already achieved significant change.  

Who knows maybe even I could be on a ticket one day!  Only in America... :-)