I wish I could remember John F. Kennedy. I wish I was around when he was inaugurated.

I was born about nine months after JFK was sworn in as our 35th president. So, I missed the optimism, the feeling of hope, and the excitement that surrounded January 20, 1961. For those of us who missed the arrival of Camelot the first time around…take heart. We’re getting another chance.

Let me make one thing clear: This is not a partisan political “I love Obama” essay. I may or may not agree with his politics. I may or may not have voted for him. That’s really not important now. What is important now, is that Barack Obama seems to be doing something for this country unseen since JFK 48 years ago.

Look at the parallels - both young, relatively inexperienced senators. Both physically attractive, with gorgeous families. Both facing daunting odds (one a Roman Catholic, one an African-American). Both elected president while still in their 40s. Both promising change. Both energizing our nation.

I have never, in my lifetime, seen a country so fired up, if you will, about the inauguration of a new president. Sure, there is optimism with every new administration. After all, they just got elected - people must like them.

But, what Barack Obama achieved even before taking the oath of office is nothing short of amazing. He has taken a country, suffering through its worst economic decline in generations, and pulled it up by its collective bootstraps (if you understand that reference, you are old enough to remember JFK!). He has brought hope, optimism and the realism that any one can achieve anything to the lives of 300,000,000 Americans…and countless billions around the world.

If this Ken-Kansan…a self-proclaimed “skinny guy with a name that’s hard to pronounce”…can be elected president of the United States…well, maybe anything is possible. Maybe I can achieve every dream I’ve ever had. To borrow from Mr. Obama…Yes, I can.

This has to be what it was like in 1961. This is the remake of Camelot, right? The cameras just have fancier lenses now.

You see, it really doesn’t matter if I voted for him or not. Barack Obama is my president. And, I’m pretty excited to say that.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 20th, 2009 at 9:19 am and is filed under Commentary, News, Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.