There are stories that you miss...when you fly on a private jet.
I'm hugely confident that Barack Obama will not disappoint as the 44th President of the United States.
Once in a lifetime someone like him comes along, a Black Swan, who is able to turn despair into optimism through projecting a quiet, determined, confidence to billions of people who need to be reassured that things are going to be alright. From world leaders to street sweepers, all will be asked to 'be the best person they can be' in their role, and I know he will lead by example. Having read and thoroughly enjoyed his book 'the Audacity of Hope', most particularly chapter 5, 'Opportunity', I feel that the 20th January 2009 will be a global turning point.
One extract from this book summarises why this man will be a Great man - do read it until the end.
The Audacity of Hope
Page 193-194:
As the pace of change accelerates, with some rising and many falling, that sense of common kinship becomes harder to maintain. Jefferson was not entirely wrong to fear Hamilton's vision for the country, for we have always been in a constant balancing act between self interest and community, markets and democracy, the concentration of wealth and power and the opening up of opportunity. We've lost that balance in Washington, I think. With all of us scrambling to raise money for campaigns, with unions weakened and the press distracted and lobbyists for the powerful pressing their full advantage, there are few countervailing voices to remind us of who we are and where we've come from, and to affirm our bonds with one another.
That was the subtext of a debate in early 2006 when a bribery scandal triggered new efforts to curb the influence of lobbyists in Washington. One of the proposals would have ended the practice of letting senators fly on private jets at the cheaper first class commercial rate. The provision had little chance of passage. Still, my staff suggested that as the designated Democratic spokesperson on ethics reform, I should initiate a self-imposed ban on the practice.
It was the right thing to do, but I won't lie, the first time I was scheduled for a four city swing in two days flying commercial, I felt some pangs of regret. The traffic to O'Hare was terrible, when I got there the flight to Memphhis had been delayed. A kid spilt orange juice on my shoe.
Then, while waiting in line, a man came up to me, maybe in his mid thirties, dressed in chinos and a golf shirt and told me that he hoped Congress would do something about stem cell research this year. "I have early-stage Parkinson's disease" he said, "and a son who's three years old. I probably won't ever get to play catch with him. I know it may be too late for me, but there's no reason somebody else has to go through what I'm going through".
These are the stories you miss, I thought to myself, when you fly on a private jet.
Barack Obama, The Audacity of Hope
