In My Opinion:  The Democratic National Convention (by Maria Carter)

Dear Editor:

The Democratic National Convention is over now.  All the lights in that grand stadium have gone dark.  All that confetti has been swept up.  But for those of us who watched Barack Obama sail through a cross-current of history on Thursday, either from the field or glued to our TV sets, the transcendent moment is just beginning.

I spent the week in Denver as a Florida alternate delegate pledged to Sen. Hillary Clinton.  In spite of what the pundits would have you believe, most Clinton supporters were prepared to applaud Clinton for her campaign, and support Obama as the next president of the United States.  Everyone seemed to agree that Obama’s incomparable oratory and brilliant policies illuminate America’s path into a new era.  Thirty-eight million people watched his acceptance speech, and I believe that’s 38 million votes he’ll have come November.  On Invesco Field, you could feel the surge of inspiration in the crowd.

The convention was quite a production, with speeches every night of the week, from elected officials whose names we won’t soon be forgetting – like energetic Gov. Brian Schwietzer of Montana.

Sen. Jim Leach of Iowa, a life-long Republican, spoke eloquently about why he will support Obama for the presidency.  His speech emphasized the bi-partisan tone that has permeated Obama’s campaign, which gives so many of us hope that this time, things will be different.

More than anything else, the convention made me believe in American politics again.  In three sentences, Obama articulated solutions to the most divisive social problems of our day – abortion, gun control and same-sex marriage.  Yes, we can agree that criminals shouldn’t have AK-47s, and that we ought to work toward fewer unwanted pregnancies.  Achieving goals can be as simple as finding that common ground.

When I got my bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida four years ago, I could not have imagined how exciting it could be to be a journalist in times such as these.  From a brief stint at the Wakulla News when I was in college to my work now at a religious non-profit, political culture just keeps getting more interesting.

My mother, Andrea Carter, is running for Superintendent of Wakulla County Schools.  Her innovative ideas for the school district flow with the wave of progressive change that moved through that stadium on Thursday night.  My mother doesn’t fit into a neat partisan category.  She is a fiscal conservative (which, I might add, is a great qualification for an elected office with a tight budget).  Like most Americans, she’s always voted her conscience above party affiliation.  She and my Dad whole-heartedly supported my attendance at the convention, and she is as excited as I am about the new political rhetoric buzzing around. 

The national pulse is on a new day dawning, and my mother represents that change, with her commitment to world-class schools for our students and support for the best, most diverse pool of teachers Wakulla County can find.  It’s not a partisan issue – it’s a past versus future issue.  Wakulla County can keep doing more of the same, or it can improve the education it offers and move into the 21st century.  If Wakulla is ready to get moving, my mom is ready to go.

Sincerely,

Maria Carter, WHS Class of 2000

This article originally published on September 1, 2008.

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