Helen Cramer

Teresa Hamilton

ENGL 137H

21 October 2019

Barack Obama Spoke at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, he was running for

Senate and endorsing John Kerry for President of the United States. Barack Obama was able to

appeal to the masses, in one of his most quoted lines he says, “There’s not a liberal America and

a conservative America; there's the United States of America.”. He made a call to action and

said, “This year in this election we are called to reaffirm our values and our commitments.” The

pillars of democracy has always stayed the same, what changes are the Dreams we have as

Americans to fulfill these everlasting pillars. The “American Dream” has changed, it had

changed in 2004 when Barack Obama gave his speech. The purpose of his speech was to appeal

to Americans everywhere. He wanted them to know that he recognized this change that they had

seen in what Americans prioritize. Obama wanted Americans to know that he could see how

things that are so often taken for granted, had become a struggle for more American than not.

Obama was not a particularly famous political icon yet. He spoke from a place of understanding.

Americans looked at him and saw themselves. He was not yet so famous that he was unrelatable.

In his speech he even stated how his life represent the American Dream. “But my grandfather

had larger dreams for his son. Through hard work and perseverance, my father got a scholarship

to study in a magical place; America which stood as a beacon of freedom and opportunity to so

many who had come before.” In 2006, Obama released ​The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on
Reclaiming the American Dream,​ a memoir that expanded upon the same ideas he originally

addressed in his convention speech, both the speech and the memoir shows the evolution of the

American Dream but the memoir established Obama’s Presidential campaign platform and his

vision for the United States of America.

Obama reminds the reader that he comes from humble beginnings, with an immigrant

father and a mother from Kansas. His story in itself reminds us what is possible in the United

States. That with a quality education, and a passion to do great things, any American can achieve

things their grandparents would think would never be possible. Like Obama said about his

parents, “They imagined me going to the best schools in the land, even though they weren't rich,

because in a generous America you don't have to be rich to achieve your potential.” Obama’s

memoir is appealing regardless of an individual’s political party. He did not harp on the issues

that the Democrats are passionate about. He reminded America that we have more in common

than we have differences. Even though he was planning to run as a Democratic Presidential

candidate, he spoke about the values we all share as Americans. That is the true genius of his

memoir. It transcends party lines and touches every American.

The memoir mostly explains his political and spiritual beliefs. The views expressed in the

memoir became the basis for his 2008 Presidential Campaign. The whole world saw how well

spoken and eloquent Obama was in 2004. He took advantage of the spotlight on him in the

political world, and wrote a memoir to further his message to the American people. There is a

particular passage that shows the overall message in his memoir very well. Obama writes about
what he experienced on the campaign trail when he ran for the United States Senate. Obama

says,

But whether I was meeting with two people or fifty, whether I was in one of the

well-shaded, stately homes of the North Shore, a walk-up apartment on the West Side, or

a farmhouse outside Bloomington, whether people were friendly, indifferent, or

occasionally hostile, I tried my best to keep my mouth shut and hear what they had to

say. I listened to people talk about their jobs, their businesses, the local school; their

anger at Bush and their anger at Democrats; their dogs, their back pain, their war service,

and the things they remembered from childhood. Some had well-developed theories to

explain the loss of manufacturing jobs or the high cost of health care. Some recited what

they had heard on Rush Limbaugh or NPR. But most of them were too busy with work or

their kids to pay much attention to politics, and they spoke instead of what they saw

before them: a plant closed, a promotion, a high heating bill, a parent in a nursing home,

a child’s first step.

This passage from the memoir is telling of what Obama wants to get across to the readers of his

memoir. They may have seen his speech on TV in 2004 and want to know more about what he

has to say. Obama continues his message that Americans are dealing with new problems, and

new challenges in their lives. These issues that Americans face are not limited to a particular

political party or ideology, they affect millions and millions of Americans. He reiterates his

message that he hears how jobs are moving overseas, or that the cost of healthcare is

unmanageable for a working class family.

 As a county we hold many of the same ideas, regardless of religion or political affiliation.

Regardless of political party we want affordable education. He spoke about meeting Americans

who were struggling to keep their jobs, having trouble finding ways to pay for college, or

deciding what necessity to sacrifice in order to pay for life saving medication. Obama’s speech

touched on the fact that Americans, who even if they are working as hard as they can, cannot

always keep their heads above water. We want to know that there is a job for every American.

We want to know that if we work hard in our adult lives, our retirements will be comfortable. His

memoir revealed an evolution in the American Dream.

In the next passage from Obama’s 2006 memoir he says,

No blinding insights emerged from these months of conversation. If anything, what

struck me was just how modest people’s hopes were, and how much of what they

believed seemed to hold constant across race, region, religion, and class. Most of them

thought that anybody willing to work should be able to find a job that paid a living wage.

They figured that people shouldn’t have to file for bankruptcy because they got sick.

They believed that every child should have a genuinely good education–that it shouldn’t

just be a bunch of talk–and that those same children should be able to go to college even

if their parents weren’t rich. They wanted to be safe, from criminals and from terrorists;

they wanted clean air, clean water, and time with their kids. And when they got old, they

wanted to be able to retire with some dignity and respect. That was about it. It wasn’t

much. And although they understood that how they did in life depended mostly on their

own efforts–although they didn’t expect government to solve all their problems, and
 certainly didn’t like seeing their tax dollars wasted–they figured that government should

help. I told them that they were right: the government couldn’t solve all their problems.

Obama recognizes that Americans mostly all share the same values. That the American Dream is

different today and he wants to be the candidate that recognizes that in people. His message also

creates a sense of unity and togetherness that in the past, politicians have not fully embraced.

Like in his speech, he reminds Americans that we are one nation. That we are not a Liberal

America and a Conservative America, we are one United States of America. Though his memoir

is focused a lot on his upbring and his personal beliefs on politics and spirituality, it is clear that

he is setting up a platform to run for President. The speech in 2004 launched him into the

national political world, and the memoir ​The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the

American Dream, ​solidified his campaign goals and placed him in the running for President of

the United States.

Obama also uses commonplaces to address that the American Dream has changed,

similar to his speech. People are facing different challenges, and our idea of a good life as

Americans has changed. The memoir reflected a certain era in American history. A time when

the American Dream was changing and Barack Obama wanted to grasp the opportunity to appeal

to every American in some way. Obama writes that he understands that many Americans feel

disenfranchised by what the United States is able to offer them. Obama touches on the fact that

plenty of Americans don’t care about the politics of it all, they just want to support their families

and achieve that “American Dream” that so many are seeking. American Dream was a house in
the suburbs and never struggled to put food on the table. Though this dream still rings true, and

many people can strive for it, there is a difference today in our dreams.

Obama’s poignant and historical memoir successfully conveys the message that the

American Dream was changing in 2004 and 2006. Obama was able to appeal to this agreement

among Americans, that there are new and difficult challenges that they face, and write a memoir

that set up a foundation for an historical presidential campaign.

 Works Cited

“Barack Obama's Keynote Address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.” ​PBS,​

Public Broadcasting Service, 27 July 2004,

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/barack-obamas-keynote-address-at-the-2004-democr

atic-national-convention.

“Excerpt from The Audacity of Hope.” ​Penguin Random House Canada​,

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/123913/the-audacity-of-hope-by-barack-obam

a/9780307237705/excerpt.