SCALING NEW HEIGHTS…

It is still difficult to describe the feeling of witnessing the first person of African descent actually accepting the presidential nomination of a major political party. It is amazing to think that we stand on the verge of witnessing a first family that looks an awful lot like mine as well as many of those that I grew up with in the Deep South.

To think that the potential First Lady’s middle name is “Lavaughn” and that one of the precious potential first daughter’s is named “Natasha” (though she is nicknamed “Sasha”) reinforces, to paraphrase the poet Langston Hughes, that “We, too, sing America.”

Last night was humbling because while we celebrated Obama’s rise, we also recognized that his coronation occurred 45 years to the day of Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech.” King’s dream, at least for the office of the presidency, is no longer “A Dream Deferred” as Hughes also wrote, but one that is actualized in the person of Barack Obama.

One of my Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brothers, Alturo Rhymes, reminded us on a chat room that yesterday also marked the 53rd anniversary of the brutal lynching of Emmitt Till who, like Obama, hailed from Chicago’s Southside. While most Americans would certainly like to forget this part of our history, no blacks (unless they are self hating) ever will. When considering Till’s death, I immediately thought of my father, Charles Sr., who was the same age as Till in 1955. Till’s death was THE pivotal event in his early life as it reinforced to millions of young black boys in the Deep South that being called "uppity” could end in death---even of a child.

My father, who passed of Cancer eight years ago, certainly would have gotten a kick watching Obama last night while knowing, as I do, that all of the indignities that he, his friends and millions of others suffered during Jim Crow were not in vain.

Obama was able to scale one the last heights that had been tacitly forbidden for blacks and other ethnic minorities in America. I was reminded of the conclusion of the critically acclaimed movie "Hustle and Flow" where the fictional character "DJ", a small time Memphis Mack (pimp) and aspiring rapper masterfully played by Academy Award nominee Terrance Howard, bluntly stated that when the child of one of his prostitutes looks him in the eye and asks whether she can be the president of the United States some day that he would “look her in the eye and lie—and say yes.”

I got to thinking that for decades, many black boys and girls were encouraged by their parents to dream of becoming president even though the possibility seemed remote. Now, it no loger is.

I also thought about the millions of talented blacks, particularly those of us who have grown up since integration, who have had white high school guidance counselors suggest jobs and careers in anything but the high paying white-collar sectors.

Yet, one cannot dispute that since the Civil Rights Movement, we have far more black professional men and women making far more money than our ancestors could have imagined. We have had dozens of legislators across the country, a few governors, and even two Supreme Court Justices.

And now, Barack Obama,a black man, is poised to become the next President of the United States. His former pastor Dr. Jeremiah Wright certainly had it wrong---God “Bless” America.

OBAMA's RISE DOES NOT MEAN THE BATTLE IS WON

Lest we forget that while we have crossed one major hurdle, millions more still remain.

I can almost hear the voice of Harriet Tubman, as Senator Hillary Clinton reminded us this week, admonishing us all to “Keep Going.”

As long as there are prisons being built each day that will continue to disproportionately lock up brothers that look like Obama, we must “keep going.”

As long as women continue to suffer from discrimination in the workplace and more poignantly, at home—often at the hands of their own men---we must “keep going.”

As long as we continue to become more and more secular, where what car we drive and what house we live in becomes more important than answering “where will you spend eternity” or “what can you do for your fellow man”--- then we must “keep going.”

OBAMA GETS SPECIFIC…

It has become increasingly apparent this week that talking heads Glen Beck, Sean Hannity as well as Bill O’Reilly are running out of issues to argue. They have been reduced to low level comedians, whether it is calling Obama the “Messiah” or comparing him to publicity starved starlets like Brittany Spears and Paris Hilton, it is clear that the GOP is in dire need of refocusing what conservatism is and how it can help solve Americas problems.

As Obama stated last night, the first task for the GOP and its standard bearer McCain is to “get it.” A number of Republicans refuse to admit that there are serious challenges facing America.

While we have all sensed that Obama understands the suffering of ordinary Americans, I, like most pundits, have waited all year for him to outline with specificity what he plans to do to restore America. Last night, the “Great Orator” stepped to the plate and delivered a monster home run deep to center---not left--- field.

I was particularly moved by his plans for:

TAXES

*Incentives for companies establishing businesses here instead of overseas
*Eliminate Capital Gains taxes for Small Businesses
*Cut taxes for 95 % of working families.

These are certainly worthy goals and I wish him the best, particularly with respect to cutting taxes for the small business owners that employ the majority of the American private workforce.

It was smart to outflank Republicans on a pet conservative issue---tax cuts. What was not said, albeit smart, is that taxes most certainly will have to be raised somewhere to pay for several of the government based initiatives that he mentioned in other parts of his speech.

ENERGY

*End our dependence on Foreign Oil
*Fuel Efficiency Cars
*Tap into Natural Gas Reserves
*Clean Coal
*Invest 150 B in Alternative Fuels

Powerful part of his speech with gas prices hovering still at 4 bucks a gallon. Realizing that he is still trying to sway undecided voters, I was not surprised that Obama did not mention any measures to compel the fat-cat oil companies to lower prices for fear of being labeled a "socialist" or one who does not believe in the free market. One measure could be to offer greater tax incentives to oil companies that do lower gas prices. It is a trade---but it would ease consumer angst and impact other industries including as well, such as travel and tourism.

Similarly, Obama did not acknowledge the obvious elephant in the room---that the 150 Billion for alternative sources will have to come from---raised taxes perhaps? The key is to ensure that those taxes don’t impact those who need the relief the most, the small business owners and working class families that are struggling. I’m certain that more specifics will develop in the weeks ahead, including how to help the struggling auto industry develop the fuel efficiency cars that he referenced as well.

FOREIGN POLICY

*End the war in Iraq
*Restore world leadership
*Fight the real terrorists

Perhaps the greatest part of the speech was his offensive against McCain who the media, both Liberal and Conservative, have all but conceded has more foreign policy “experience.” Obama did an excellent job in distinguishing between his and McCain’s temperament and decision making.

One of the strongest lines of the night was when he juxtaposed McCain’s mantra of following Bin Laden to the “Gates of Hell” to McCain’s refusal to fight him in the “caves where he lives.”

Obama effectively communicated that future military expeditions would include “clear cut goals” as well as a “commitment” to providing troops with the best equipment that they need—a knock against the early stages of the war in which the Bush administration and the GOP controlled Congress failed to provide the latest body armor for our soldiers that were being decimated by improvised explosive devices.

Obama also scored points by discussing the hardships that military families are enduring. In the weeks to come I believe that he should take the bold step of advocating not only better health care (including mental health treatment for returning soldiers, but also a plan that would include tax incentives for companies that hire veterans, greater provisions within the GI Bill including a cost for living adjustment as well as money to defray housing costs or relocation fro soldiers attempting to attend school or obtain a new job post military.

Obama also got specific on a number of other issues including:

EDUCATION: (Add an “army of new teachers”)

and

HEALTH CARE: (Wants to limit the “bureaucracy of insurance companies”) Note: Obama wisely stayed away from the specifics of universal health insurance, a cumbersome topic that may have bogged down the flow of his acceptance speech. There will be time to flesh this out in the debates this fall.

Overall, the gloves came off last night and Obama certainly extended a challenge to his Republican opponent. I get the sense that the best is yet to come in the debates. In the weeks to come one can only hope that the brilliant Obama, who is far more cerebral than his counterpart, will practice breaking his specifics into short answers, a skill that McCain not only prefers, but excels.

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