Obama embodies hope, optimism, realism and change

Op-Ed by TOM D. WATKINS

Listening to Sen. Barack Obama after his decisive primary victory in South Carolina, I closed my eyes and could imagine the voices of President John F. Kennedy, Sen. Robert Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., morphed into one.

Passion, hope and optimism; speaking from the heart with integrity; calling on Americans to reach deep into their souls and understand that our better days lie ahead and that, by coming together, we can triumph is the message I hear from Sen. Obama. He has inspired me and a new generation.

When Sen. John F. Kennedy was running for president in 1960, major issues of the day were how to get the economy moving again and how to compete with the Russians, whose space and missile programs had begun to surpass America's. We have similar challenges today. Barack Obama does not quiver but creates a sense among all Americans that we can and will prevail on the challenges ahead.

Kennedy inspired and challenged when he said, "We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.'' Sen. Obama does not tell us that ending the war in Iraq or fixing Social Security, our schools, our economy or Medicare is going to be easy. He tells us the truth that it will be hard and require a shared sacrifice for the common good. He is willing to speak the truth to the American people in a way that we have not heard for some time.

The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., held a mirror up for all the world to see how ugly racial discrimination is in America. Rev. King adhered to the philosophy of nonviolent civil disobedience and successfully used the nonviolent strategies of India's Mahatma Gandhi to help force change in this country. While what we saw on our black-and-white TVs was ugly, Rev. King offered "hope'' as he spelled out prescriptions for change, as does Sen. Obama.

Robert Kennedy to me, as a child growing up in the shadows of our nation's capitol in the mid-'60s, was the conscience of our country. I saw the blatant racism from my home in suburban Maryland and from my grandmother's porch only blocks from the White House in southeast Washington. Robert Kennedy spoke out against the poverty and racism that I witnessed with my young eyes. I knew what I saw was wrong but Robert Kennedy gave my vision a voice. His contribution to the civil rights movement has to be considered his greatest legacy. I feel the same passion and call for justice in Sen. Obama.

I have spent a good part of my life in public service based on the lives and calling of the Rev. Martin Luther King and the two Kennedys. I hold the Kennedy Mass cards distributed after their untimely death and a copy of the "Letters From the Birmingham Jail'' by Rev. King as reminders of the passion and call to give back and to make a difference in our world.

Sen. Obama, with his message of hope and change, is conjuring up the emotions I felt in the idealism of my youth that have been dormant for many years. To put it simply, Barack Obama inspires with the combination of the two Kennedys and the Rev. King - that is inspiration!

President Kennedy's daughter, Caroline Kennedy, captured it best in her recent endorsement of Sen. Obama when she said, "Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible. We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama.''

It is difficult to conjure up the values, integrity, leadership optimism and the call for change embodied in the likes of the Kennedy brothers and the Rev. King, but as I listened to Sen. Obama, he does just that.

We need hope, optimism, realism and change in this country. Time will tell if the message of Sen. Barack Obama resonates with enough Americans to make him the Democratic nominee and eventually the next president of this great land. Yet, it is clear that his message is one that more and more people are willing to bet is the ticket to a better future for us all.

Sen. Obama is offering leadership and change with progress. That is inspirational.

About the writer: Tom D. Watkins, a Northville resident, is an education and business consultant who served as Michigan's superintendent of schools from 2001-05. He can be reached at tdwatkins@aol.com. To contribute essays to Other Voices, contact Mary Morgan, opinion editor, at 734-994-6605 or mmorgan@annarbornews.com.