Thank you, Gary, for capturing the incredible moment of last nite. And
thank you, Alison, for sharing your personal joy and wisdom.
For me, at this moment, I am overwhelm with gratitude for the thousands of
people from all parts of this country who came to Reno to work on the
Campaign for Change.
We did turn Nevada Blue! And the hard work and passion of the young
organizers and the energy of the not so young volunteers has changed Reno
as well.
"Let every child and every citizen and every new immigrant know that from
this day forward everything really is possible in America." Thomas
Friedman, NY Times, 11/05/08.
Ellen Pillard
Reno, NV, USA
At 02:15 AM 11/5/2008, you wrote:
Obama, I
Thank you, Gary, for your beautiful and heartfelt sharing of this moment.
As one of the millions who gave a bit of their time/money etc to team
was as I was as at the last two Presidential elections volunteeringin the
neighboring state of Pennsylvania a swing state for the electionyesterday.
parents,
In our family, political activism was a tradition, and thanks to our
as a kid, I shook the hand of John F. Kennedy and attended the March onhave a
Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic speech, ³I
dream...² As a member of the sixties generation, whose vision ofAmerica was
shattered by the three assassinations of that time, it was bitter indeed tothis day,
witness/participate in the devolution of the last eight years.
Last April, when I heard Robert F. Kennedy Jr speak at a conference I
attended, I realized that those traumatic losses were alive in me to
making me fear to hope. I was moved as I heard the same Kennedy-esqueproblem
leadership and brilliance, while feeling relieved that Bobby¹s throat
(he speaks with a strained voice), would keep him out of public office andwhile
away from the risk of being assassinated.
The hardest thing was to watch the public protestations of democracy--
the authentic opportunity of democracy was progressively extinguished. Thatfailure
this should have occurred under the watch of my generation felt like a
that overshadowed any accomplishment that I might personally attain. Towatch
the succeeding generations sink into a mindless apathy manipulated bymedia
images was a total heartbreak to me.seized
So for me, the greatest joy is to see the hope pass along to and be
and carried by the next generation. As I have volunteered with them, as Iit¹s a
engage with them on Facebook, as I saw them dancing for joy last night,
tremendous relief to know that whatever long road lies ahead, that the hopebetween
was passed along.
As I watched the television coverage of the election returns last night, I
recalled my parents¹ ritual Election night parties and cried and rejoiced.
For me, the most touching moment was to see the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who
was undoubtedly the most powerful orator of his generation the link
King and Obama-- and whom I heard orate many times, standing in thecrowd at
Obama headquarters in Washington, weeping.Studs
I dedicate this poem to him and to a few recently passed proponents of
inclusion whom I like to believe are cheering/helping from the beyond
Terkel, Paul Newman, and President-Elect Obama¹s grandmother:grandmother
Tonight I cried with Jesse Jackson.
Tonight I saw my hope redeemed.
Tonight the torch passed to the next generation.
Tonight we were a team.
Tonight we celebrate and dance en masse,
Say, hey, a leader with real class?
Can't you see Studs, Paul, and all just beam?
Yes, yes, YES, we can!"
Don't ever doubt the dream.
Alison
Alison Rose Levy
I am proud to be an American again and a global citizen as well. None of
this would have happened without the perpetrator "Decider" uniting American
humanity to collectively and peacefully make their voices heard around the
world. Inclusion has replaced exclusion, hope has replaced resignation,
change has replaced status quo. American wounds of racism, slavery, bigotry
and greed can now become just a painful memory of our ignorant past. This
new global American leader was most inspired to greatness by his
who died just a day before her grandsons glorious victory.are a
What hath this woman wrought for our world in this person her grandson
Barack Obama to lead us out of the "bushes of darkness" into the light of
greatness. George Bush has truly led us to this moment of victory for
humanity to overcome fear, hatred & exclusion inspiring us ALL to choose
CHANGE.
Blessings to our Iraqi victims, our downtrodden Americans, our poor and
huddled masses yearning to be free within our own borders. The Statue of
Liberty's torch was shining again tonight for all the world to see. We
human family together embracing Change for the good of mankind and American****************************************************************************
once more.
Sincerely touched, Gary Stuart LA, CA
This thank you note was sent to ALL his supporters before his acceptance
speech.Now that is efficient, organized and a political gratefulness rarely
seen..
*************be in
Gary --
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I
wanted to write to you first.
We just made history.
And I don't want you to forget how we did it.
You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you
knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and
neighbors about why you believe it's time for change.
I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this
campaign.
We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll
touch soon about what comes next.
But I want to be very clear about one thing...
All of this happened because of you.
Thank you,
Barack
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