The Real Barack Obama, Circa 1996

On a quiet evening in Oak Park, Illinois in 1996, when Barack Obama was purportedly cavorting with terrorists like William Ayers to get his nefarious Illinois congressional campaign off the ground, I, too, went to a house party for Barack hosted by crazy, hopeful Americans looking for a better civic agenda. Or radical outliers strategizing about 9/11, depending upon your sources.

I was an unlikely invitee, having spent the 1980s pursuing my God-given right to work for an extremely conservative publisher, raise two boys, buy lots of Calphalon cookware, volunteer for the Junior League and wear fur. I firmly believed (and still do) in working hard and getting to keep most of the spoils. (Message to the media: It's not the candidate's fault who gets invited to a house party.)

I liked Susan, the client/colleague who invited me --a graduate of Harvard's Kennedy School of public policy who had left "community activism" for the not-so-easy path of influencing capable, well-educated people to leave their go-go business position to staff the nation's leading foundations and not-for-profits. I was in the midst of my own political conversion. A cradle Republican, I had some questions: If raising two boys on a good family income with an attentive father was such hard work, how did less-well-off couples and singles manage? How could I support traditional Republican opposition to gay rights after working alongside a supremely gifted, good gay man? And if Republicans don't do wars and deficits well, what is their platform, anyway? So when Susan called, I went.

When I got there, Susan was facing a typical hostesses' problem: not enough people had showed up. Unlike the hundreds of thousands who show up for Barack's message of hope and change today, on that evening there were maybe a dozen of us in Susan's modest (but beautiful) carriage house. Among the sparse guests were a Chicago journalist and his daughter, Maggie, a scholarship-educated Ivy League grad who was passionately focused on the struggles of Chicago's working poor.

I listened to Maggie and Barack engage on urban and civic issues in much the same way I remember listening to my engineer father connect with his fellows over the particulars of something complex, abstract, and not-so-interesting-to-me. I hovered nearby to listen but not interrupt; small talk would not cut it here. These were two serious experts examining challenging but engaging problems. Listening, I realized that -- despite my newly awakened liberal leanings -- I was still bush league when it came to understanding the social order beyond the realm of the lucky, the conventionally hardworking, and the culturally sanctioned.

As I listened, it was apparent that Barack-- while interested in the undeniable strengths of American-style capitalism -- felt that there was enough "play" in the American system to include the working poor in our nation's bounty. His approach was not "socialist" but entrepreneurial and uplifting. He clearly believed that America's working poor are an untapped resource, and that a small investment in their economic lives would yield tremendous benefits for the entire commonweal.

Almost a decade later, my strongest impressions are of an impressive, smart, handsome man who seemed completely unworried by the small turnout, and who was fully engaged with a bright young woman who aspired to follow in his footsteps as a community organizer.

This guy was the real deal. He reminded me of my parents' many kind and generous friends and contacts who had offered me mentorship over the years, solely because they loved what they did with a passion, and wanted to pass the flame to a new generation. Like Maggie, Barack Obama had an elite education that could have led directly to wealth and comfortable ease. Instead, he chose a grassroots path, powered by ideas, a consideration for others less fortunate, and the possibility of real, inclusive change in our society. And when he recognized a kindred spirit in Maggie, he ignored the sparse turnout (and its implications for his ultimately doomed Congressional bid) and took a few minutes to offer respect and encouragement to a thoughtful young woman.

Since that evening, I've continued to raise my children in relative privilege. I've survived cancer, thanks to good luck and great health care (and great health insurance). I've watched my beloved father succumb to a disease that pitched him back upon the dreaded social safety net that was our salvation. I have presided over the demise of my father's beloved company, that employed dozens of people for nearly 30 years. I have worked hard at a museum I love. And I have observed eight absolutely appalling years of American leadership which have brought war, torture, diminished civil rights, economic demise, widespread abandonment of consideration for the less fortunate, and increasing devaluation of learning and intellect.

A dozen years after I first met Barack Obama, I hope I have done some good things, for my family, my country, and my world. I know that I am not a world-changer -- except, perhaps, with my upcoming vote. I desperately want a leader who is better than I am.

A community organizer in the White House? We could do worse.

Comments

[CriticalDune]

HuffPost's Pick

Terrific post...so in character.

My wife and I met and spoke with Barack for the first time at a fundraiser during his Senatorial campaign in Illinois. Many were focused on on critical issues like the Supreme Court and Iraq. We were too, but our axe is autism research and lifespan supports for people with disabilities.

We've tossed this curveball at a number of leading politicians. The responses are typically a "deer in the headlights" look followed by stock policy pablum.

That unseasonably warm, misty night in 2003, we saw and heard something quite different.

Barack engaged us and outlined, in detail, the autism and disablility related legislation he'd sponsored and supported in the Illinois Senate, he knowledgeably discussed the shameful insurance gap that contributes to families busting up and declaring bankruptcy as they try to shoulder the $50,000 per year cost of recommended therapy to maximize outcomes for kids with autism, and he pledged to keep up the fight in Washington. It was a brief , but in our minds, remarkable conversation. We agreed at the time that he was POTUS material.

Recently, we have been called by a number of friends and colleagues to whom we relayed this story 5 years ago. We remind them that many, many people have had this same reaction. While you may disagree with our candidate on one issue or another, there is no doubt that America is very lucky to have the opportunity to elect a truly exceptional individual.

[JNail]

Karen, thanks for sharing the story.

I grew up in Oak Park when it was a Republican bastion and my folks were in a distinct Dem. minority in the 60's.

Having a smart, engaged, normal person as President makes me feel like we can really change this country. This just reinforces all we see of him today.

[dakotawoman]

Loved this woman's point and agree whole-heartedly with Obama's vision as she witnessed it unfolding.

I do have a bit of a beef, however. She seems to still believe that ALL of those who work hard attain spoils. There are those conservatives who ardently believe the next step in the orthodoxy's logic that if one does NOT have spoils, then you obviously have not worked hard. See the problem? Many, many, many, many Americans, indeed many citizens of the world, work desperately hard and have little to show for it.

[HermesThoth]

"This guy was the real deal." Indeed he is. And his program for America is likewise the "Real Deal" - the next incarnation of the "New Deal."

[bwiser]

What a lovely story. It only confirms my instincts about Sen. Obama; that he is the genuine article. This is a defining moment in the history of America. We have a unique opportunity to evolve, to reclaim the ideal. It's going to be tough, but we know that Obama is in this for all the right reasons. His candidacy has already given America something we haven't had in a long while, hope.

[qxav949]

I wish I could have been there too. What a kick to be able to compare and contrast then and now in one's mind.

[keckie38]

Wow, sounds like quite an experience.
He will be a great president.

[Leota2]

Bravo!

[blaqntelligence]

I second that!!!