On 44th Street, there is a rental house that Carrie and I pass by when we are walking Beau, or coming home off Guadalupe. In 2005, we noticed a Jeep out front of this house with a bumper sticker that read simply, "Barack Obama 2008." The bumper sticker was green and gray, as it was before the catchy slogans and market-tested graphics.
Sometimes we would comment on the message, sometimes not, but we both knew that we both noticed it every time we passed. It was like this little seed that was planted, of something that was possible. When we did talk about it, Carrie's basic point was that it was too soon for Obama to run. Maybe in four, or eight years, she would say. Carrie has a hard time getting her hopes up, because disappointment crushes her so. She had long predicted that the first black president would be a Republican.
I would try to convince her that there are times when a candidate has to get in now, even if it is "too soon," because momentum is huge, another chance may not develop, and too thick of a voting record can be used against you, especially as a sitting Senator. Usually, if it came up, I would speculate on a "President Obama," and she would say, "I don't want to talk about it," or words to that effect. She did say that if Obama became president, we would have to write a thank you note to the people who rented that house, drove that Jeep, placed that bumper sticker, planted that seed.
We all know how the election turned out. I don't write this to point out how I was right, and Carrie was wrong. That happens all the time. ... What?...
In the Summer of 2008, a few months before the general election, the people who rented that house, drove that Jeep, placed that bumper sticker, planted that seed; they moved. We never got the chance to thank them for the small but significant role they played in giving us hope that Obama could become president. I write this to say, "Thank you," to them. They'll never know what a service they did. It wasn't the internet, social media, brilliant campaign strategy, or the other stuff that has been credited for Obama's victory. It was simply hope, courageously stated on a bumper sticker, in 2005. Thank you.
Peace,
JS4
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4 comments:
Obama seemed to come out of the wild blue yonder, didn’t he? But I guess sometimes there is simply no stopping goodness and justice from winning the day. Good for those people for reading the stars way back then!
Ahem! The proofreader strikes again! I found, not a typo, but a tiny little (possibly blatant) misprint, for I am quite sure that the words "That happens all the time" were actually supposed to be "That hardly ever happens." I know you'll want to get that corrected right away.
I would have agreed with Carrie -- after the 2004 election I predicted that no US Senator would be elected President for at least 20 years. There is just too much in a senate voting record that could be twisted into attack ads.
Although the previous poster took exception to the "hardly ever happens" line, I would object to the "courageous" line toward the end. Posting an Obama bumper sticker was prescient, perceptive, perhaps even wise ... but probably not did not come at the risk of peril.
Still, let's hear it for those who dare to hope!
Point well-taken on the "courageous" line, Mark. Not a lot of risk in our neck of the woods. But if the Jeep's driver had to venture into Williamson County to our north, in 2005, he might have gotten fewer "thumbs-up" from his fellow drivers.
My mom had her Obama yard sign stolen, and its replacement burned on the front lawn, up in Longview.
My next door neighbor has a "W, The President" sticker on the window of his Suburban in front of his house. Not many political allies of his in Hyde Park, and I'm glad the Suburban has been un-messed-with in our pocket of dark blue.
Thanks for your comment. Always glad to hear your thoughts. Enjoy the beach, and tell the family hello for us.
Jay
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