二月总统节的那周， 七岁的小女儿回来谈起她班上的mock总统竟选， 选票上有Clinton, Obama, and McCann。我问女儿你选的谁， "Clinton. Because she is a girl, and I want a girl to be the president of American (见图一). Mom and dad, whom would you vote for?" LG说当然是Clinton啦因为我有两个女儿。我说我会选either Clinton or Obama 因为I'm a democrat. "what's the difference between Democrat and Republican?" 女儿这么感兴趣， 我们就去图书馆借书。 借的书中有一本是关于Obama的。 这本书是2004年民主党Boston Convention后出版的， 讲的是民主党的后起之秀耀眼之星 Obama 的生平和他的理想。在沙发上搂着老二就读起来， 当读到 Obama 小时候他的妈妈早上四点半叫醒他起来学习时， 心里一振， 这不正象咱们中国人重视学习吗?
第二天， 我在Costco顺便买了一本Obama的书 -- The Audacity of Hope -- Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream 。接下来几天我一口气读完。 几年前我读过Clinton的 Living History, 对Clinton的Politic Journey有了一定的认识。 坦率地说， Obama 的 The Audacity of Hope is more beautifully written and more thoughtful, and to me, it's a crash course about American society and culture -- it covers topics of Republicans and Democrats; Values; Our Constitution; Politics; Opportunity; Faith; Race; The world Beyond our Borders and Family。 从此， 我们经常在家里谈起 Obama， 开始follow his campaign, his speech and his story。 I registered on his web page barackobama.com. 每次在computer前一坐下，老二就会过来， "Mommy, let's go to cnn.com and click on politic or election center"! 整个Democrat Primary过程, 老二一直在统计 Obama 得了多少票 Clinton 得了多少票。 LG趋向Clinton， 我趋向Obama，老二干脆在家里举行竟选定胜负(见图二)。After Democrat Primary, I told everyone that I had contributed some $$ to Obama's campaign. LG commented on it "that is why Clinton lost, because I did not send her any $$".
六月， 朋友的儿子品学兼优以W镇高中第一名的成绩考进S大学。 毕业典礼上小伙子代表 毕业班讲话。 印象最深刻的一段， 他谈到受教育的目的，提醒大家即使住在大多数家庭can afford $200,000 for their kid's tuition的镇里，"we must not forget that a tons of people around the world are still starving everyday!Thus, it's our responsibility to work to shrink the huge disparity between the rich and the poor(不是原话哈， 大意是这样) ...... ". Wow, may I venture to suggest: in 30 years, this son will be our Chinese Obama!
我们教会有个年轻的姐妹R，大学本科专业是机械工程, 一个偶然的机会参加了大学里的Voter Registration活动， 便开始对campaign感兴趣， 大学毕业后就职与一个Non-profit organization, and has been running legislation campaigns for a lot of states since。 家里人总是劝她找一个正式工作, 她很有耐心地告诉母亲"妈， 这就是我的正式工作"。
经常在网上读到"华人从政要从娃娃抓起"， 我却认为"华人从政要从自己开始"。 请看下篇: 2008美国大选有感: NH Canvassing 纪实。
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图二:
