Remembering Barack Obama's First Speech As President Giving The US Society Hope

Former President of the United States, Barack Obama (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - "President! President! President!"

The shriek of the American people in Chicago welcomed Barack Obama onto the stage to deliver his first speech as US President. Their enthusiasm was great. No wonder, because it was the first time they had an African-American president.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where anything is possible, who still wonders if the dreams of our founders still live in our time, who still questions the strength of our democracy, tonight is the answer," Obama said, opening his speech. The speech took place today 5 November 12 years ago or in 2008.

"The voices have been answered by young and old, young and old, rich and poor, Democrats and Republicans, black and white, Hispanics, Asians, Native Americans ... who send a message to the world that it is not just a collection of individuals. or a collection of blue states or red states, but we are and will always be the United States, "Obama said amidst the applause of his supporters.

Obama became the 44th President of the US after winning the electoral college of 365 votes and gaining a large margin of popular votes. He successfully won the Republican vote base in Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.

In addition, Obama is the first Democratic candidate to win a majority of popular votes since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Obama managed to get 69.5 million popular votes which is also the largest number ever won by a previous presidential candidate.

But that record has now been broken by fellow Democrat Joe Biden. He won more than 71 million popular votes in the 2020 presidential election.

'Yes, we can' was often said by Obama during the campaign. Not just the slogan, 'yes, we can' inspires many people and shows that each one of them has equal rights.

The president who lived in Indonesia as a child is considered a presidential candidate who understands what it feels like to be a minority and be in the middle class. Barack Obama is also believed to understand the feelings of a worried family financially.

Obama was born to a teenage mother, then abandoned by his father at the age of 2. He grew up in a small apartment by his grandparents. Obama, his mother and younger sister used to rely solely on free food stamps.

The expectations promised by Obama sound realistic, such as health facilities and his focus on middle to lower class citizens. Opinion polls also show that Obama is seen as far more qualified to face the problem than his rival, John McCain.

Dare to hope

His calm attitude in facing problems also makes people dare to depend on him for life. Obama also made the US public see that having hope is new energy, because they saw Obama's position when it came from hope.

"The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in a year or even in a period. But, America, I never expected more than this. Tonight we will get there," Obama said. in his victory speech.

"This victory in itself is not the change we are looking for. It is only an opportunity for us to make that change. And it cannot happen if we return to the way it was. It cannot happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice, "Obama said.

In the 2008 US Election, Obama did not take long to see the hilal of his victory. On the day of the voting, Obama delivered his victory speech on the same day. This is different from the 2020 US Presidential Election which took more than a day to count the votes collected.