1) Economy - The economy has certainly rebounded, and even though we have a long way to go before it is back 100%, even Newsweek announced that the recession was over. I know it wasn’t easy dealing with the AIG fallout, and even dealing with something as mindless as the First Lady wearing $500 sneakers in the time of the recession (and at a food bank no less) couldn’t have been fun either. But the President did a B+ job with it (points off for AIG not being handled as smoothly as it could have been), and I don’t think anyone else could have gotten us out of the worst part any better.

2) Health Care - I was happy to see that Obama thought enough of the importance of health care (and listened to the demands of Americans across the United States who marched to get the word out) that he held a prime time press conference on the subject. Even taking into account that in general there isn’t a lot of agreement on any issue on both sides of the aisle, it is still sad that there hasn’t been a great plan presented that everyone can get behind. I see that Obama is trying to sell a plan that isn’t clicking with as many members of the public nor lawmakers and that’s not okay since each hour that passes and a plan isn’t approved, more and more lives are at stake. Add to that the talk of taxes potentially needing to be raised when Obama said no increase in taxes, and this health care fight is far from being over. C

3) Gay Rights - Obama disappointed me when he didn’t immediately move to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. I understand the politics regarding it, and I certainly understand he had more time sensitive issues to get to when he first took office, but I thought that this would have been one of his milestone early achievements. I was happy to see that he marked Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month with a White House reception and said he wanted to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act, but I only give him the grade of B.

4) International Affairs - A huge point of pride for me was seeing how well-received President Obama was overseas. Whether it was participating in the G8, discussing nukes in Russia or meeting (along with the First Lady) with the Pope, the great press and real work that took place overseas, I’d like to think, helped to thaw the ice left by President Bush, and for that I give him an A.

5) Domestic - On a personal note, just from talking to fellow Generation O-ers (and even people my age that didn’t vote for Obama), everyone agrees that it feels wonderful being happy that we have a cool and smart President. I had one friend tell me that she was researching which new country to live in during the Bush years, and now she doesn’t even dream of leaving America, as her sense of duty to her country has been restored. As trivial as toned arms and cute adorable daughters can be, the fact that the Obamas are brightly coloring the fabric that makes up America is a point of pride for a lot of Americans and in terms of domestic PR, I have to give Obama an A+.

My life: Here in Seattle, I am involved in volunteering for four campaigns, and it is a very exciting time for me as the August 18th primary will whittle each race (among others Mayor, various City Council positions, and King County Executive (a position last occupied by HUD second-in-command Ron Sims)) to two competitors. In previous elections, I did phonebanking (for Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore) but being a Volunteer Coordinator for one campaign and a Legislative District Coordinator for another gives me an even more unique and interesting perspective of the political process than I ever had before. It is my hope that the learning experiences that I gain from working on these campaigns is not unlike the great experience I had blogging for Newsweek.com, something I can’t thank the website or the staff enough for.

Before I sign off, one final note: August 4th is President Obama’s birthday. Happy Birthday Mr President!

-Mica Powers

Back in May, I attended a rally here in Seattle that was for health care reform.

It was estimated that at least 3,000 people showed up to march on a hot day for a few miles.

Since then health care has constantly been in the news, with even President Obama’s former doctor weighing in.

As someone who has great health care through a job that I adore, I’ve always said that my interest in this issue isn’t about me, it is about a basic right that everyone in America should have.

I went to a candidate forum on Tuesday, where 15 City Council candidates gathered. There was a portion of the show were you went to one side of the stage if your answer was “yes” and to the other side if it was “no”. They were asked both serious and silly questions (“Have you ever done pot?”, “Have you ever skinny dipped”, etc), but one question really drove everything home for me.

The question was “Who doesn’t have healthcare?” The 15 candidates-some incumbents, some newbies-were of all ages, but the youngest was 25. After a few seconds of shuffling from one side of the stage to the other, it was clear that out of everyone, only the 25-year-old didn’t have health care coverage.

The audience of this event was mixed as well, but it was put on by an organization that had the goal of getting young people involved in politics, so there were a lot of teens there.

The audience roared with sympathetic approval that this one candidate didn’t have health care. It was an applause-filled acknowledgement by a crowd that also wanted better health care for themselves and their friends.

That one defining moment-out of a 2 hour event-said a lot to me. Health care reform is very important and I hope soon that everyone has an option that works for them, whether they are a young 18-year-old just starting to figure out life, or a 25 year old City Council candidate.

The controversy surrounding Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is interesting, especially when I take into consideration what various friends have said about it. To see different reactions to the same situation isn’t something already happening in general no matter the subject-but still thinking about their responses has taught me a lot about my friends.

I had African American friends that were happy—overjoyed even—that President Obama defended his friend, speaking from the perspective of someone interested in highlighting the injustices that minorities face on a day-to-day basis from police. One friend felt that after “beating up” on African American men in his Father’s Day speech in 2008 (I said it was constructive criticism and was meant to serve as inspiration) and more recently again taking the “tough love” approach during his speech at NAACP’s 100th Anniversary dinner (same), to speak from that perspective was a welcome change.

A different friend was quicker to believe Sgt. James Crowley, saying that he did nothing wrong. She theorized that Professor Gates probably was jet lagged from his long overseas flight and was unreasonably agitated, therefore it was his own fault that he was arrested. When I pointed out that the charges were dropped the next day, lending credence to the idea that the arrest was unjustified, the friend pointed out that it was nothing more than a PR move due to the national spotlight negatively beaming down on the Cambridge police.

Finally, I had a friend that couldn’t for the life of him understand why the media didn’t decide to focus on the more important topics of the world, especially given the fact that President Obama’s answer came at the end of a press conference overwhelmingly focused on health care.

I am more inclined to concur with my last friend. In the end, it is interesting that such a hot topic gripped the nation. Perhaps soon instead of Skipgate, we’ll hear more about Laura Ling and Euna Lee finally getting out of their North Korean prison, or about maybe Twitter will have a top trending topic having to do with a good health care plan for America finally passing.

-Mica

I did something that I have never done before this past Saturday.

Myself-and more than 51,000 riders-officially welcomed the new Light Rail train here in Seattle, Washington. By the time the weekend ended more than 92,000 had gotten a present day glimpse of the future, and of what progress looks like.

It certainly had been a long time coming. I went to college in Chicago where the popular L train goes all over the city in an efficient manner that got me through my university years safe and sound. Riding the Light Rail reminded me of those years and it made me happy to see that Seattle has finally taken the leap that many other big cities took years ago.

I recently came across a Newsweek article that had to do with Obama’s high-speed rail (HSR) plan that he spoke about in April. Next month, the first funds will be split among the 11 designated corridors. I don’t know when or if the project will really get rolling toward reality, but watching my fellow excited passengers on this inaugural day made me excited about a future that would include similarly overjoyed passengers, across the nation, happy that a new alternative to planes or automobiles was now a reality.

Given that this is the Generation O blog, I thought it was interesting that it was due to the young pro-Obama voters that a 2008 $18 billion ballot measure was passed for rail funding, when just a year before a roads-and-transit package had failed.

All in all, the construction of the Light Rail took a total of 5 years and cost $2.3 billion. It currently goes from Tukwila, a suburb of Seattle to the heart of downtown. By 2016, it will stretch out to the University of Washington and by the end of 2009, we will be able to take it to Sea-Tac airport.

The rides on Saturday and Sunday were free, which I think was an excellent way to promote the Light Rail. Also free? An awesome souvenir sticker:

-Mica

In honor of his most recent overseas trip, I did some research and came across a few pictures of how artists from the countries of Russia and Italy and the continent of Africa use local art customs to honor Obama (the African cloth was created in Tanzania, while it was Ghana that Obama visited).



Russia

Tanzania

The phrase “Upendo na Amani Tujalia Mungu” translates into “God Has Blessed Us With Peace And Love”.

Finally, tried as I did to find a recent authentically Italian interpretation of Obama, I only really came across the above sidewalk portrait from Hani Shihada, who started his career in Perugia, Italy. Created in New York City, this sidewalk portrait (from 2008) is actually apart of the Italian tradition of “madonnari”. In this tradition, painters use white chalk, charcoal, and roof tiles to create unique images.

It is my hope that the myriad of issues discussed by Obama in the three foreign locations-nuclear reduction in Moscow, pleding $20 billion in agricultural and food aid to the most impoverished countries in the world in L’Aquila with the other G8 leaders, and urging those in Cape Coast and beyond to take responsibility for each other to uplift Africa-eventually begin to come together and as successfully as these three very unique pieces of art.

-Mica

Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin has resigned more than a year before her first term ends. Aside from disappointing all of those that voted for her (it’s not as if she left early to serve a wider range of people, like Obama did), the abrupt nature of it all and lack of clear explanation is puzzling. As such, since she did such a great job turning her press conference into one gigantic cliffhanger (maybe she’s heading to Hollywood to write movie scripts?), I thought I would talk about the three best (at least in my mind) reasons why she decided to throw the towel in:

A) She’s sick of politics and wants to be regular Joe - Wanting to get into politics is not unlike having a huge desire to be famous, as you want massive amounts of people to like you and believe in you, right? If we are going to stick with this comparison, think of the star that decides signing autographs 24/7 and posing for the paparazzi is too much to handle. It is totally plausible to me that Palin decided she wasn’t cut out for the national stage and has decided to cut her losses, wants out of politics all together, and decided now is the “perfect” time to do it.

B) The O’Jays Factor - By that I mean money, money, money. There’s a part of me that thinks she just wants to kick back, finish writing her book, travel the United States by way of motivational speeches, or maybe act as a consultant (and no, I’m not sure for what either). Quitting her day job definitely frees up a lot of time to financially ensure her family’s future.

C) Palin 2012 - There’s also a chance she’ll use this time off to prep for a presidential bid in 2012. She definitely will be able to read up on international issues, get to know the Lower 48, possibly actually visit Russa, and other things in the interim. Then again, maybe she wants the time out of politics to reconnect with being the ‘average’ citizen, so that when she gets back on the national scene, she can come across as a Ross Perot-esque ‘outsider.’ She might think this could work in her favor for those people that are sick of politics as usual.

Ultimately the question remains, will her star shine bright, or will Palin pale in comparision? 2012 is still so far away that it is hard to predict what will actually happen. However, I must say that given her current track record, if she does decide to run, Malia Obama will be thanking her. Palin will single-handedly make it easier for Malia-18 at the end of a second Obama term-to move directly from the White House to a college dorm. Smooth transitions can be such a great thing, you know?

Whatever the future will be, I know presently that the Obamas are in Russia this week. At the very least, I hope Palin can at least temporarily disregard party lines and wave to the First Family when she seems them, since she’ll be able to see it all from her front porch.

-Mica

Last week, I spoke about the greatness that is Twitter. It may go the way of Myspace or Friendster before it, but truth be told, I can’t think of a recent time where messages such as this one conveyed such an urgent desire to get direct connections in a locked-down country.

By now, most of you know that on Friday, current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won Iran’s presidential election with more than 62 % of the vote.  His leading opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has since disputed the results, and his supporters have fought, rioted, and been arrested by police.

What’s interesting to me is that before this fiasco, I think the majority of Generation O-ers mainly knew of Ahmadinejad from the Saturday Night Live digital short called Iran So Far, a funny sketch about how seemingly dreamy the President was, with vocals from Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.

When I first saw the tweet, I only noticed the jumbled numbers, which made me immediately think of using Morse code to get secret messages. After realizing that they were proxies, I thought about how, in a way, they were the 2009 Morse code, an attempt by someone to send international assistance in a very serious situation. The fact that the author of the tweet and Generation O-ers all over are raising awareness of what’s going on in Iran speaks volumes of how far we’ve come in terms of communication. I can’t wait to hear about the young Iranian who, years from now, will recount how in all the craziness of the riots, hearing about how the international community used the Internet to educate themselves and provide hope for Iranians helped her get through this situation.

I watch as this all pans out countries away from me, hoping for the safety of millions, wishing they could all be as happy and united as Americans were just a few short months ago.

-Mica