The Opik Obama Connection.................

Responding to claims in the weekend papers that the campaign to stop MP Lembit Öpik becoming President of the Liberal Democrats “has turned nasty,” Lembit said: “I think we need to calm down a bit here. It seems some fellow Lib Dems have mixed up which Presidential election this is. Well, I’m not running for the Whitehouse! We’re talking about the Presidency of the Liberal Democrats which is important, but it’s not about the leadership of the free world. In that spirit, I wish Mr Obama every success, and I’d like to think that, if he wasn’t so busy at the moment, he’d do the same for me!”

So, what is the connection? Both running for President, both with unusual names beginning with O, and elected, both will be the first Presidents of their respective country/party with a surname beginning with O........something quite symmetrical about that don't you think!!!!

Obama - A historic moment

I should be getting down to writing up my notes from Nick Clegg's speech today, but I keep finding myself distracted. One such distraction was reading this post by Jim Wallis. Having heard Jim speak about his involvement in the Civil Rights movement last week, I found his words particularly heartfelt and moving, so am sitting with tears rolling down my face! He finishes by reflecting on the election of Obama as the Democratic candidate as being truly historic:

"But it is more than historic; it is very personal for many of my generation. A new generation just sees this as natural -- he’s an inspirational leader who happens to be black, which matters little to them. But for my generation -- I’m dating myself now -- this is a transformational moment, one we didn't think would come in our lifetimes. Race was the issue that changed us, shaped us, determined our path, and even defined the meaning of our faith. Now a black man is running for president of the United States. Amazing grace."