Caroline Kennedy Endorses Obama...Now What do I do?
It appears that Barack Obama has just secured the crown jewel of an endorsement for his presidential run for the Democratic nomination. If you thought Oprah can bring in millions of votes, there's no telling what an endorsement by the Kennedy family will do for his prospects to become the Commander in Chief.
I have always admired Caroline Kennedy. She has endured so much tragedy in her life - losing her father to an assassin's bullet, her mother to cancer, and her brother to a horrific plane crash. Through it all, she has remained intensely private about her own life. She is truly a role model who has managed to raise her children out of the specter of the public eye while helping others realize their full potential so they too can pursue their dreams.
Though I have made it clear early on to friends and family that I was a Hillary Clinton supporter, this recent endorsement does make me think twice about my decision. The reason I was hesitant about voting for Obama was because of his lack of experience. Hillary is the more seasoned candidate - she's been in the White House before, she's a senator, she can potentially set us back on course to what once was before our lives were irrevocably changed by terrorism, war and economic turmoil. But just because I feel more at ease with a Clinton White House, will it really just be more of the same?
I have always admired Caroline Kennedy. She has endured so much tragedy in her life - losing her father to an assassin's bullet, her mother to cancer, and her brother to a horrific plane crash. Through it all, she has remained intensely private about her own life. She is truly a role model who has managed to raise her children out of the specter of the public eye while helping others realize their full potential so they too can pursue their dreams.
Though I have made it clear early on to friends and family that I was a Hillary Clinton supporter, this recent endorsement does make me think twice about my decision. The reason I was hesitant about voting for Obama was because of his lack of experience. Hillary is the more seasoned candidate - she's been in the White House before, she's a senator, she can potentially set us back on course to what once was before our lives were irrevocably changed by terrorism, war and economic turmoil. But just because I feel more at ease with a Clinton White House, will it really just be more of the same?
Will the Republicans come out with poison pens blazing again - ready to uncover the latest scandal that will prevent her from doing her job effectively? And if that does in fact happen, does it make more sense to vote for a candidate who offers hope, promise and change for a nation in desperate need of a makeover?
In Caroline Kennedy's editorial to the New York Times she said, "I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring to my children, my parents' grandchildren, with that sense of possibility."
With this moving passage, Caroline Kennedy has given us all something powerful to consider. Do we take a chance on a candidate who is reminiscent of her own father, who at the age of 44 became the youngest man to ever become president? I'm sure back then, there were parents like me who doubted this young senator from Massachusetts had the ability to effect change in this country, but in the short time he was president, he did instill that sense of hope, purpose and promise that so many Americans were desperately longing for.
As I personally learned this year when I left a stable corporate job to launch my own company, change can be unsettling and at times, frightening. But to truly experience success, you have to take chances. Perhaps Caroline Kennedy is on to something. I still don't know if that will sway my vote, but what I do hope is that our next president offers our nation a sense of unbridled optimism so that our children can inherit a nation rich in opportunity and not one of despair. To truly experience the American dream, you have to live your life as a dreamer. Perhaps that dreamer is Barack Obama. I guess we won't really know unless we take a chance.
In Caroline Kennedy's editorial to the New York Times she said, "I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring to my children, my parents' grandchildren, with that sense of possibility."
With this moving passage, Caroline Kennedy has given us all something powerful to consider. Do we take a chance on a candidate who is reminiscent of her own father, who at the age of 44 became the youngest man to ever become president? I'm sure back then, there were parents like me who doubted this young senator from Massachusetts had the ability to effect change in this country, but in the short time he was president, he did instill that sense of hope, purpose and promise that so many Americans were desperately longing for.
As I personally learned this year when I left a stable corporate job to launch my own company, change can be unsettling and at times, frightening. But to truly experience success, you have to take chances. Perhaps Caroline Kennedy is on to something. I still don't know if that will sway my vote, but what I do hope is that our next president offers our nation a sense of unbridled optimism so that our children can inherit a nation rich in opportunity and not one of despair. To truly experience the American dream, you have to live your life as a dreamer. Perhaps that dreamer is Barack Obama. I guess we won't really know unless we take a chance.
posted by Role Mommy @ 8:06 AM
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