I started to scream with joy, "He's won" and some of the folks I screamed this to jumped for joy. Others didn't believe me. Sarah and I had "honored guest VIP" passes thanks to a generous donor; we were directed through a bevy of black SUVs and limousines and ran into Illinois Governor Rod Blagovich. After snaking past the press tents, we faced a bank of cameras and lights. Behind us were Chicagoans of every color, age, and dress waving small American flags and dancing to the piped in music. "USA" was in lights on one of the skyscrapers and the Hancock and Sears tower were lit with red, white and blue.

Chicago loves a party and it felt like many of the other festivals I've been to here but somehow surreal at the same time. Having made Obama campaign phone calls starting with the Iowa caucuses, when it was just a few of us in the Chicago campaign office, drinking hot chocolate and trying to convince voters to take a chance, through the excitement of Indiana's primary on past the long summer of smears and going door to door to register voters and then get them turned out, I just couldn't believe in some way that we were finally seeing victory.

I think many of those in the "VIP" area felt the same way; a lot of them were young campaign interns (read" no sleep, living on chips and fast food, and little pay").

Others, like ours, were family pairs of Boomer parents and twentysomethings. The last time we remember the kind of hope we have felt this year was when we were kids and Jack Kennedy was the President.

When they announced the next "First Family of the United States" we went nuts; and there they were; Michelle, Sasha and Malia holding hands with Barack. We could barely see through the cell phones, cameras, and flags but it didn't matter. We were finally "here" and what an amazing feeling.
Barack's speech made us cry; he thanked his family including his late grandmother; he thanked us, he thanked pretty much the world and he reminded us of the hard work ahead, and then it was over, like a wedding; days and weeks and years, in this case, of preparation and you can't believe it\'s time to go home, it seemed too fast; we wanted an instant replay to savor this joy.

Strangers hugged and took pictures of each other; the crowd behind us waved flags, danced, cheered and sang.

My daughter said, "You know, I'm like Michelle, I am finally really proud of my country." For her at 25, there have been already too many wars, the Gulf War (which she protested with me as a child), the war in Afghanistan, the war in Iraq. Due to hard work and her gift for languages, she has worked in Taiwan and China and volunteered for the United Nations in Thailand and she has seen her country's reputation tarnished by too many lies and too much violence. She has also seen the effects of poverty, war, and racism not only here at home but in villages in Cambodia. So to see her wave a flag last night was wonderful. It was even more wonderful to see her be able to witness the unmitigated delight on Chicago's streets last night; as we say in the protest movement; "Whose Streets? OUR STREETS!"

People hugged, cheered, bought souvenir "Chicago Tribune" headline pins and t-shirts with "OBAMA WINS!"

At the storefront windows of Ebony and Jet crowds took photos of giant reproductions of magazine covers of Barack and Michelle and went inside for a photo with a cardboard cutout of Barack. I have never seen Chicago's black community in such absolute rapture and they were happy to share it with the rest of us. It has been a long time coming.

May the outcome of this American election be auspicious and of lasting benefit for America and the world.
Empower those leaders who have the vision and ability to bring about genuine change, reconciliation and peace in America and the rest of the world.

Help them win the presidency and other influential positions of leadership so they can enact both immediate and long term relief.

Give them the insight, clarity, courage and power to overcome their rivals, win the election, and lead with creative and effective solutions.

Grant them the circumstances they need to be able to enact and achieve the changes they envision without obstacle.

May the American people be empowered with discerning wisdom. Expose and undermine the influence of those who use fear to exploit the hearts and minds of Americans.
May all be auspicious for a harmonious future for America and the world.

"I was a precinct captain for Obama in Iowa, and one of the most impressive things his campaign did was send me a thank you gift. It was a copy of the Constitution," says Alan Brody. This act inspired his 1789 Contribution Campaign. Read more below. ---JGR

Send a “special 1789 contribution” to the Obama campaign, in the amount of $17.89 or $178.90 or $1,789.00 in honor of the 1789 date of adoption of our nation’s constitution.

Dear Friends,

All throughout 2007, Independents and Democrats in Iowa were saying, "We have many good candidates this year."

In this "first out of the gate" state, with its neighborhood caucuses, the most money and the dirtiest campaign can't win you a victory. You literally have to get out and meet the people. The candidates crisscrossed the state for 11 months. I'd guess that everyone in the state could have had the opportunity to meet any of the major candidates in person at a rally or meeting less than 30 minutes from their home. Here in Iowa City, we had multiple such opportunities.

After close scrutiny, Iowa (96 percent white as the pundits kept complaining) surprised the country by going for Barack Obama. The atmosphere in the Democratic caucuses was civil, even friendly. The results were not a vote against Hillary Clinton or John Edwards, both of whom in Iowa ran clean, fair campaigns. It was just that Iowans were more impressed by Barack Obama and his potentials to restore civility and the rule of law within America, and faith in the country abroad.

I stood up in my caucus for Obama, but coming home that January 3rd evening I was feeling like a "good Democrat." I know how badly eight years of George W. Bush have damaged this country, and so I felt ready to see the Democratic candidate selection process through, and then contribute my dollars and cast my vote for whichever of the three top Democratic candidates would emerge as nominee for November.

A mere three weeks later, I'm having second thoughts. I was one of those diehard supporters of Bill Clinton, through the worst days of the impeachment hearings. While viewing him as a shmuck for going for Monica Lewinsky, I also saw the impeachment for what it was: a sleazy, deeply unpatriotic political maneuver led by the Republican attack machine, by male Republicans who should have known better than to cast the first stone, and by a sensationalist media obsessed with profits at any cost. And I respected Hillary Clinton for how she handled herself. For her intelligence and commitment to public service, I could also forgive her her vaulting ambition and flashes of insincerity, and I had been impressed with how much she had learned and grown since 2000, as she mastered the role of Senator from New York.

Nothing that happened during the Iowa campaigns changed my mind about any of that. But I'm afraid that among those who place power above integrity, desperation brings out the worst. Stunned by their Iowa defeat in a clean and fair campaign, it appears the Clintons and the impressive political machine at their disposal has turned to personal attacks, lies and dirty tricks.

"That's politics," some will say, but I have to say, "Sorry, I'm not looking for four more years of that kind of politics."

I have also begun to ask myself, over the last few days, "Am I willing to entrust the Clintons with all of those massive powers that George W. Bush has accumulated in the White House, over the last eight years of depredations against the Constitution and the rule of law?"

I was a precinct captain for Obama in Iowa, and one of the most impressive things his campaign did was send me a "thank you gift." It was a copy of the Constitution. That's the kind of President I'm willing to entrust with all those powers George W. Bush accumulated to the White House, because I have full confidence in Barack Obama's integrity to dismantle those powers that go beyond the Constitution, and to use wisdom in his exercise of those which, for the genuine security of the country, he needs to retain.

Barack Obama has not approved this message, and I think would not. To do so might appear opportunistic, and I sincerely believe that opportunism was not the reason he and his wife Michelle decided to embark on his candidacy.

But I hope you approve this message, and if you do, I want to ask you to help "send a message" for a new politics. I am this morning sending a "special contribution" to the Obama campaign, in the amount of $17.89, in honor of the 1789 date of adoption of our nation's constitution.

This is an unusual figure that I think almost no one would normally give. So in effect, when you send this amount, you are sending a "1789" message not just to Barack but to the whole Democratic Party, and the Republican attack machines that are revving up their engines towards November. Let's make "1789" a kind of message to all the politicians that we are fed up with the politics of the last two decades, we've had enough... We want a new politics, and a President who will return to our Government civility, the rule of law, and the integrity of our Constitution.

To make that "1789" contribution, click here to go directly to the Obama secure website.

And then I hope you would forward this message to many other people on your email list, and ask them similarly to forward it. I have a dream that, before this ripple dies away, a million contributions of $17.89 could pour into the Obama campaign, and catch the attention of the press, to send a message to all the candidates that our hearts and minds are looking for a new politics for this country.

Warm regards,

Alan Brody