Policymakers, citizens ready for 'change', Senator Obama
Bankole Thompson/Special to the NNPA from the Michigan/Chronicle & FrontPage
Issue date: 6/29/08 Section: Politics
MICHIGAN (NNPA) - On the evening of June 16 in Downtown Detroit, a cheering crowd of 20,000 people - likened to those that greeted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. here in the 1960s - once again greeted Sen. Barack Obama, this time not just as a mere candidate, but as the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the first for an African American.
Coming to a city that is the largest African-American conclave in the nation and the historical significance of such candidacy resonated among Detroiters who cheered and danced at the rally as if it was a Stevie Wonder concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Adding to that jubilation with Obama being trusted as a political wunderkind was the appearance of former vice president Al Gore who has moved from active politics to become our environmental prophet with his message of "inconvenient truth" disseminated around the world to fight global warming.
Gore's endorsement of Obama was not only important for uniting the Democrats for the Illinois senator in November, but also provided a platform for the man who many, including Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), believe won the 2000 presidential election to re-launch himself into the 2008 debate for occupancy of 1600 Pennylvania Avenue.
"After eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure, we need to change," Gore said to a roaring crowd at the home of the Red Wings. "After eight years of our Constitution being dishonored and disrespected, we need changes."
Gore said in an earlier release on his Web site announcing the endorsement of Obama that, "Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges, including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy and solving the climate crisis."
Juxtaposing Obama with former president John F. Kennedy, whose brother, Robert F. Kennedy, predicted in a 1961 article in the Washington Post that in 40 years America could elect an African-American president, Gore said age is not a necessary ingredient for running for president, but sound judgment is.
Coming to a city that is the largest African-American conclave in the nation and the historical significance of such candidacy resonated among Detroiters who cheered and danced at the rally as if it was a Stevie Wonder concert at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Adding to that jubilation with Obama being trusted as a political wunderkind was the appearance of former vice president Al Gore who has moved from active politics to become our environmental prophet with his message of "inconvenient truth" disseminated around the world to fight global warming.
Gore's endorsement of Obama was not only important for uniting the Democrats for the Illinois senator in November, but also provided a platform for the man who many, including Congressman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), believe won the 2000 presidential election to re-launch himself into the 2008 debate for occupancy of 1600 Pennylvania Avenue.
"After eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure, we need to change," Gore said to a roaring crowd at the home of the Red Wings. "After eight years of our Constitution being dishonored and disrespected, we need changes."
Gore said in an earlier release on his Web site announcing the endorsement of Obama that, "Over the next four years, we are going to face many difficult challenges, including bringing our troops home from Iraq, fixing our economy and solving the climate crisis."
Juxtaposing Obama with former president John F. Kennedy, whose brother, Robert F. Kennedy, predicted in a 1961 article in the Washington Post that in 40 years America could elect an African-American president, Gore said age is not a necessary ingredient for running for president, but sound judgment is.
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