The book, “Please God Save Us” opened more than a few doors and led to more than a few new friendships.  One of those was with the staff at JosephBeth Booksellers at Legacy Village.  As America prepared to celebrate its 44th President, JosephBeth wanted to host an event.  So they had a “Ball at the Bookstore” and they asked me to provide the keynote address for the evening.  My remarks are copied below — Kent Smith 8/16/2009

 

Joseph Beth Inauguration Ball Remarks

January 20, 2009 

Thank you very much Sharon for allowing me to be a part of the Inaugural Ball at the Bookstore.   I must say I think  a bookstore is a wonderful place to celebrate Democracy.  And it may be even more fitting tonight and today as we have an incoming President who has authored two best selling books that helped provide him the national standing that made his run for President possible.  And we have an outgoing President who once said “One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.”  Really he said that – US News and World Report – Jan 3, 2000.

Eight years after George Bush gave that insight into his qualifications for the White House, I had a standing room only view of history in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Because one year and seventeen days ago I stood inside the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church.  It was packed inside the church and I watched the 13th Precinct of Cedar Rapids gather and caucus but what I witnessed was history.  I saw Barack Obama win the Iowa Caucus and take the first step to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Because remember before tomorrows headline could be written – this headline had to be written.  [Kent holds up Chicago Tribune paper from January 4, 2008 which reads, “Obama, Huckabee strike first with Iowa victories”]

In the spirit of full disclosure I must tell you that I did not rejoice the night of January 3, 2008 because I was working for another candidate.  I was in John Edwards camp.  I actually posted daily blogs about it on Cleveland.com.  Anyway, I was an Edwards supporter because since JFK, the only Democrats who had won the White House were southern candidates.  And unless the Democratic Party could find a nominee who could again inspire like JFK, than I was convinced that Edwards was my Party’s best bet to win the White House.

And let me take you inside the strategy of the Edwards campaign – because the night before the Caucus we thought we had it won.  As you may remember there were three strong candidates in Iowa – Barack Obama, John Edwards and Hillary Clinton.   We believed that 50,000 votes would win us the Caucus.  The average Iowa Democratic Caucus turn out was about 150,000.  So if we could capture one third of the votes – we should do OK.   Well, we hit our mark.  In fact, John Edwards got the second most votes in Iowa Caucus history.  But we were not even close.  Barack Obama outpaced everybody.

What I witnessed in Gloria Dei Lutheran Church was occurring across Iowa – record voter turnout.  And in that church, I took a photo of the Obama supporters that I still have on my cell phone.  Again what we were expecting was 150,000 Democratic Caucus voters.  But 231,000 people showed up across Iowa.   Barack Obama had blown the statistical models out of the water.  He had produced a turnout increase of more than 50% of what the experts said would happen.   Iowa 2008 was not a blip, it was not a numerical miss-adjustment.  Something happened in Iowa that political history could not have foretold.

Barack Obama.  -  A Presidential candidate  with a name so bad no political image consultant or focus group could have invented it.   Perhaps his message of Hope could take hold. Perhaps when he said “Change” it was seen as a credible promise and not a plagiarized sound bite. Perhaps this Junior Senator was something special.  Perhaps this Illinois author was this Party’s next JFK.    Perhaps Barack Obama could help our nation see and believe and achieve the daring scope of our dreams.

 

Barack Obama himself said that “America is a land of big dreamers and big hopes.  It is this hope that has sustained us through revolution and civil war, depression and world war, a struggle for civil and social rights and the brink of a nuclear crisis.  And it is because our dreamers dreamed that we have emerged from each challenge more united, more prosperous and more admired than before.” 

And again America has become admired.

And the election of Barack Obama has impressed leaders across the globe.  Listen to what Margaret Beckett, Britain’s Housing Minister said;  “Obama’s victory will have a massive effect on the world.  I think no other country but America could do this.  Obama has come from such a distant place to get here.  When you think of his name, his middle name, this happened in America first.   It absolutely shakes people’s perceptions of the American they loved to hate.”

What’s interesting is Minister Beckett made those remarks in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Let me read to you what another world leader said.  Quote “I applaud the American people for their great decision and I hope that this new administration in the United States of America, and the fact of the massive show of concern for human beings and lack of interest in race and color while electing the President, will go a long way in bringing the same values to the rest of the world sooner or later.”  Unquote.

Those were the words of Hamid Karzai  – the Afghan President.

As Barack Obama once said, “This country is not as polarized as our politics would suggest.”  But he also said, “What Washington needs is adult supervision.”

 

January 20th is not just a day to celebrate Barack Obama it is also a day to celebrate America.  This is like New Years Eve for Democracy.  This is a celebration of our union.  This imperfect country has an uninterrupted history of peaceful transitions of government that are the envy of the rest of the world.  This afternoon the reigns of power went from an oil tycoon from a  political dynasty to the child of a single mother raised half a world away and toughened on the Southside streets of Chicago.  Even in America today’s is a stunning story.

One of Americas finest characteristics is its evolution.  We do not languish forever in our sin.    We are better now than where we were and the best is yet to come.

So to you here tonight I say take pride in your President but also take pride in your country.   I believe that this is not just a historic day but a historic beginning.  I believe that great times lay ahead not just for this nation but for this world.  I believe that a time marked by the daring scope of our dreams is at hand.  And I am honored to be able to share this historic start with you here tonight.   Thank you very much.