21 October 2008

Pre-Election Warm-Up, Main Street, Carbondale, Illinois, September 2004; or, Lionel Britton and Barack Obama

On this side of the road stand the Republicans, on the other the Democrats. The former hoped for a second Bush term; the latter (as the buttons yelled) hoped to 're-defeat Bush'. Many Democrats woke up with sore heads after the result.

On the flight back from Chicago to Heathrow, I sat next to a university librarian: my precious hand luggage was crammed with photocopies from the Lionel Britton Collection at Southern Illinois University, whereas he was hoping to bag a number of books by obscure Scandinavian writers. He was reading an autobiography by a guy I'd never heard of: Barack Obama. Senator Obama was wowing them in Chicago, I learned, but I was very dubious about the president thing. 'Do you really think America is ready for a black president?' I asked him. He did. I now believe he's right.

So let's hope that America gets it right this time. Although – as I've suggested way down below somewhere – I hope too that, after a possible two terms, history really will be kind to Obama and see him as far more than a symbol of change.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Tony,

I'm writing to thank you for the blog. Withoit it I would never get the chance to read "Hunger and Love".

Last Monday I got the book from Robert.

So, your blog works as a hub of Britton's Universe.

Thank you for your work and efforts,

best regards,

Ioann

Dr Tony Shaw said...

Many thanks for this, Ioann. Interestingly, soon after I posted the chapter of my thesis to my blog, a trustee of the Working Class Movement Library in Salford asked me if I'd send him a copy of the thesis. Yes, I certainly will!

Enjoy the book

Tony