Sapiblog - The Official Blog of Sapitot Creative

June 3rd, 2008. What a wonderful day for our country and our history. Thank you America.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/03/obamas-nomination-victory_n_105028.html 

On the eve of the Virginia primaries, I was fortunate to secure tickets this weekend to see Sen. Barack Obama speak at a town hall in Alexandria, VA. I have to say, it was a site to behold. We arrived over an hour before the doors were scheduled to open and were greeted by a line of at least a thousand people ahead of us. The news reports definitely have it right, there were whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians, running the gamut from very young to the elderly, from those that were obviously well off to those who looked to just be getting by. He truly has support from all walks of life.

After standing in line for over an hour and the line probably doubling in length behind us (along with dropping temperatures), we were efficiently moved through the lines to the high school gymnasium. From then, we probably sat for another hour. Obama was running late, but at no time did I hear people complaining. Everyone was excited to be there and the crowd was electrified, entertaining themselves with cheering and doing the wave.

Once Obama stepped out into the crowd, the place exploded in cheers. After taking an introduction from Gov. Tim Kaine and a testimonial from a Hispanic mother, he went into his stump speech, frequently interrupted by applause, but also got into specific details of his plans. He also took at least 30 minutes worth of questions from the crowd, showing his wide knowledge of world issues, tackling problems in Africa, school funding, and bridging the bi-partisan gap. In one of the more touching moments, an undecided immigrant voter asked him why she she vote for him saying she was torn between her husband’s choice of Hillary and her son’s admiration of Obama. He brought her 9 year old son on stage for a photo op and then in reply, he took 10 minutes to sell himself, showing he cared enough for this one woman’s vote as if her vote was the only one that matters. From the look on the woman’s face after his answer, I think she’s voting Obama.

I’m proud to have a candidate that I am proud to support. This has been the first time I have felt not only interested, but engaged in the political process, and in 2 day’s time I’m going to my polling place with a sense of dignity in my choice, not just a decision of the lesser evil.

I’ve always been one that cringes at political design. It seems that no candidate ever takes the time to do justice to how they present their message. Clichés abound in this realm: the traditional flag, eagle and stars decorate just about every sign posted in someone’s front yard that proves that they are most patriotic candidate. Even worse, this fall I saw signs here in northern Virginia that used the most horrid of fonts…comic sans! C’mon now!

I finally found such a candidate in Barack Obama. I had not logged on to his site since his candidacy was in its infancy and from what I recall, it was a decent site. I revisited it during the pre-New Hampshire hype this week and was pleasantly greeted with a very fresh, clean and youthful site. An absolutely beautiful, well thought out presentation. The subtle patterns in the background, the charming widgets that decorate the page are all very tastefully done. The designers picked a very simple sans serif font to use consistently throughout the site, as opposed to the heavy handed serifs that Hillary uses rather inconsistently on her page.

The design does what all great design should do, compliment the message, and also lets the information breathe. I don’t feel as though I’m getting bashed in the head with all of his latest news and achievements, the site gracefully unfolds as the viewer scrolls down the page, with everything easily navigable. It gives the impression of a very sophisticated, well prepared candidate who represents change. The look of Obama’s site reiterates his position of breathing new life into Washington. In comparison, his rivals’ sites feel clunky and cluttered. Perhaps a it’s a good contrast of the old generation vs. the new one coming of age.

Now I’m not saying I would base my vote off of a web site design (although he already has my vote in the bag), but you have to respect someone who takes the time to thoughtfully present their case. Hats off to the designers and developers…if anyone figures out who did the site, I’d love to see their portfolio.

You can check out the Obama site here: www.barackobama.com

Most importantly, get out and vote this year, wherever you live. This election is too important not to do so.