Houston, We Have Liftoff

After an exciting win in Wisconsin last night, Barack Obama gave an inspiring speech in Houston. What follows is a firsthand account from Generation Obama member Christopher Gregg of Houston, TX:

It was amazing to walk to the Toyota Center and see the line to the entrance wrapped around the corner. It seemed as if all of Texas was represented in the line.

Before Barack spoke, I had a chance to sit with this older African American man and just talk about Barack. He had to be in his 70's, and he had a lot of good things to say. What really hit me, was when he started to talk about some of the struggles he had gone through growing up here in America. Then he kind of paused, looked up, let out a breath of relief and said, "I never would have thought in my lifetime I would ever see this day.”

That did it for me. I understood exactly what he was saying. I understood even more so how important this time is for America. The beautiful things is, what he said is exactly what Barack Obama's message is all about: Hope and Change.

When Barack came out, the place went nuts. You know when you witness something real dynamic and you start to get chills? When you can look in the audience and you know you are with the right party because you feel so comfortable? It was one of those moments.

The thing is, Barack has not changed or wavered from what he believes in and still manages to grow his party. I guess what I got out of the whole thing is what everyone is starting to get. McCain, Hillary and the others want to talk policy, which is fine. Barack has a plan of action also. The major difference that he brought last night is opening up the grey area between old America and the new America. That is the Change that he is talking about and Hope he explains.

He made a very good point at the end when it came to Hope. He explained how he was raised by a single mother and his grandparents after his father left when he was two. He went on to talk about how he went to school, got his education, did his time as a Senator, and now he is standing in front of us today. The place erupted and cheered, "That is what Hope is all about!”

Hands down this is one of the most important things I have ever experienced and I am so glad I had the chance. Most of the people I know have parents that fought, struggled, and suffered so we could get to this point. Let's not let them down, it is now our turn to do our part. They got us the right to vote, let's make the right choice!

And in case you missed the Houston speech, here it is:

Part I

Part II