This is cross-posted over at Left of the Hill
In the middle of all the GOTV work that I've been doing, I was able to find some time yesterday to attend an event at Centreville High School which featured Caroline Kennedy as the main speaker. Now I was looking forward to this event for several reasons, one being that I live about a mile down the road from where the event was being held so I didn't have to travel very far. Another benefit of the event being held right in my immediate community is that I had the opportunity to see several of my neighbors at the event -- many of whom I had never seen a political rally before. This was not only a testiment to Caroline Kennedy but the excitment about the election season.
The event wasn't well advertised, which is a shame, but there was still a decent showing of about 200 people who came out to the event. The audience was in for surprise as it was Lynda Robb who introduced Caroline Kennedy. For those of you who don't know, Lynda Robb is President Lyndon Johnson's daughter and the wife of Chuck Robb. In other words, she's the daughter of the last Democratic Presidential candidate to carry Virginia and is married to a man who served as a US Senator, Lt. Governor, and Governor from Virginia. Robb spoke about the energy that is surrounding the Obama campaign and how she believes he is the best candidate to lead our country. She also touched on how, since her father was JFK's vice-president, she had a unique perspective to see how President Kennedy was a truly inspiring figure and mentioned that "he inspired us all." These are qualities that she believes so many people have also found in Sen. Barack Obama.
It was on that note that she introduced Caroline Kennedy, who had made several stops all across Virginia yesterday. Part of the reason Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama has received so much attention is that she hasn't always been involved in politics despite her the family history. During her speech last night she pointed out that most of her public speaking was in support of her "Uncle Teddy," who she said is doing better and is looking forward to working with President Barack Obama. This simply illustrates how important she believes this election is for our country. Caroline then went on to discuss another Kennedy by discussing how she has had many people tell her about how her father inspired many people to help improve the community through volunteering for the peace core, becoming a teacher, or do something else positive for the community. She then added that one of the reasons she's supporting Obama is because she believes that, like her father, he'll also help create an atmosphere where more and more Americans are inspired to do public service in one form or another.
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"Barack Obama is the kind of leader that has brought a whole new generation into the process. That's something that we haven't seen for a very long time and that's what it's going to solve the challenges that we are facing."With so many challenges facing our country ranging from the economy to the foreign engagements were are currently involved in, I tend to agree with Caroline here that getting more people involved in public service is one of the ways we can help ensure our country head back in the right direction. As she pointed out, however, another thing we must do is make sure that Barack Obama is elected president.
In addition to his leadership skills, a lot of people have been pointing to the vice-presidential selection process as an example of why Obama is the best candidate. Since she served on the group that helped select his VP choice I think it's safe to say that Kennedy has a good idea of the process Obama went through in making this decision. She spoke about how the decision was so thorough that it only increased her faith in Obama's candidacy. After going through all the possible candidates, Kennedy remarked that "We ended up with Joe the Senator." While she didn't mention Sarah Palin or John McCain, it was obvious that this story was suppose to not only illustrate how Obama made sure he picked the right person but also highlight how McCain's pick seemed to be a last minute decision made only to score a few political points.
She concluded by reminded us that this one of most important elections that she can remember and we should go out and make phone calls, knock on doors, and make sure our neighbors vote. As motivation for why we shouldn't just write this off as an Obama victory, Kennedy highlighted how many pundits remind us that if one vote in every precinct had gone the other way in 1960 then her father wouldn't have been elected president. With just a few days left until the election, this was a great reminder of the important work that we have left to do in these final days.