Friday night as I awaited the arrival of Bill Clinton I struck up a conversation with two Chinese exchange students doing graduate work at WPI. Both had been the US for 6 months and absolutely love it. They both hope to be able to find jobs to stay here, if not they will go back to China.
There they stood, two young men from a country that is our greatest rival and one of our potential enemies both about to be only 10 yards from the man who exactly one decade prior was the most powerful person in the entire world.
After they started moving forward I talked to a union steward who was there to support Martha Coakley. As we were both Italian we talked and had an awful lot in common. It was a pleasure to share his company and we both commented on how great a country it was where two guys like us could be just a first down away from the former president. We agreed that if we told our grandparents this, they wouldn’t believe us.
It was even greater than than he knew.
Consider, ten yards from me a man who was once the most powerful in the world was going to ask me to do something, and I was going to refuse with absolutely no fear that he would attempt to compel me otherwise.
Today after Mass (yes Adrienne he’s coming with me don’t get your hopes up) we are off to Boston to see the most powerful man in the world who will ask, not order ask me to do something that he really wants me to do for the sake of an agenda that he really believes in…
As on Friday I will refuse. As on Friday I will do so with the safe assurance that he will not attempt to compel me nor order others to do so. In fact even if he DID order others to do so, I have the certainly they they would refuse such an order.
That is the greatness of America, that is the freedom of America, that is the compact between the government, represented by President Obama and the Governed, represented by me.
Today I will be in the presence of a politician that I considered unqualified for his position, a product of a corrupt Chicago machine. A man I have criticized and ridiculed many times in the past and likely will criticize and ridicule many more times in the future. I will also have the great honor to be in the presence of the elected leader of my country, my president. I see no conflict in any of those statements. That is America!
Update: The Obama rally has been pushed back a few hours, good thing too because there was plenty to post about this morning.
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