Hey, Kansas!
My friend Ginger sent me a link to a streaming video of Barack Obama in Kansas -- Ginger lives in Kansas and I often tease her that she and her family are the only Democrats in that state.
Apparently I'm wrong. Obama is the top fundraiser in Kansas, and this hall is packed and the crowd is energized. And young. And I've heard from a number of sources that Kansas' popular Democratic governor, Kathleen Sebelius, who gave the Democratic Party response to the State of the Union last night, will be appearing with him today and giving him her endorsement.
I'll admit the ugly comments on the TV station's website are getting me down -- it appears that Obama is a terrorist black unpatriotic black not a good American black not a real Christian black, and some people in Kansas don't care for that.
Obama's mother grew up in Wichita, and his grandparents are from Kansas, something that's being talked about a lot. And that pisses off a lot of folks, too, because their problem isn't so much that Obama is black but that he's of mixed race.
Just like another Kansan, although one of slightly lower profile: Ginger's little granddaughter.
And that's one of the things I like about this candidacy, because I'm kind of hoping for the day when not only Barack Obama but Ginger's baby granddaughter and my own 2-year-old mixed-race nephew will, to quote Martin Luther King, Jr., "one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
Sometimes I think, like King, that's an achievable dream. Sometimes I think I'm just insane to believe that can ever happen.
You can watch the streaming vid here. If they archive it, I'll update with a link to that when it's over. It's 10:35 AM Pacific Time right now and it hasn't even started. They do have it archived. At the moment, you access it by going here, then look at the embedded flash video on the far right hand side, not the small news story video in the center of the page. It's showing part 4 of the speech at the top, but the rest of it, starting with the welcome, is accessible beneath that, by clicking on the small images labeled "Welcome," Part 1, Part 2, etc. If I find an easier way to link to it, I'll update yet again.
Update: It's on.
"This country is more than a collection of red states and blue states, because my story could only happen in the United States of America."
"The biggest divide in America today is not between its people; it's between the people and their government in Washington, DC."
Update 2: Backup stream here if the KAKE.com one is slow.
Update 3: Barack Obama: "Please give it up for Gov. Kathleen Sebelius."
Gov. Sebelius: "Thank you. Thank you very much. Well, I'm delighted to be here and join all of you. I'm sorry we were a little late. The snows and blowing winds of Topeka kept us going a little slower. But I'm thrilled to be here and to welcome Sen. Obama back to Kansas....
"I'm especially pleased to be here to announce my enthusiastic endorsement of Sen. Obama for President of the United States."
(Massive cheering.)
"Now this is not accidental. Barack Obama has midwestern values... he got them from his grandparents and from his mom.... he will lead with those values. He knows about not only working for the individial good but the common good. Those are the values we understand here in the Heartland, and the kind of values we want to see in our President."
Pitches for participation in the KS caucus next week. Don't just applaud for him here today, go caucus for him in a week.
"It's not about what our party supports, it's about what our people support.... and I think right now we are with the next President of the United States."
Update 4: She pitches for participation in the Kansas caucus next week; "Don't just applaud for him here today, go caucus for him in a week."
"It's not about what our party supports, it's about what our people support.... and I think right now we are with the next President of the United States."
Said her sons support Obama -- a new generation rising up. She has been worried about the younger people "feeling that it didn't make a difference if they were involved or not."
"This campaign, your candidacy, is transforming that process for young people in America. They are engaged, they are energized, they are here. That's not only good for your campaign, it's good for our country."
She said that yesterday Sen. Obama received an historic endorsement from Sen. Ted Kennedy.... "the torch is being passed to a new generation of leadership."
He said, "What counts in our leadership is not the length of years in Washington, but the reach of our vision, and the strength of our beliefs, and the rarer quality of mind and spirit that can call out the best in our land and our people. "
She concluded, "And that is Barack Obama."
I admit I am watching Project Runway because they pay me to, but this week's episode? Brilliant. From my recap at AfterElton.com:
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