Posted on: Friday, February 15, 2008
COMMENTARY
Obama will break through gridlock
By U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie

I first met Sen. Barack Obama's father at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa campus soon after my arrival there following statehood in 1959. Barack Sr. had just arrived from a newly independent nation — Kenya. Everyone was drawn to his dynamic, energetic manner. His intellect was as brilliant as his smile; his personality was every bit as magnetic and charismatic as is his son's.

Shortly thereafter, Sen. Obama's mother appeared, scarcely 18, quiet yet intense in her demeanor, outwardly calm but possessed of an adventurous spirit and openness of heart toward everyone. They met and married, and in time, little Barry, as we knew him then, was born, perhaps destined to become president of the United States.

Barack Obama's story could not have started anywhere else in the world but Hawai'i. The values of the Sen. Obama we consider for the presidency this coming Tuesday are grounded in the aloha spirit. The foundation of his character was shaped by Hawai'i's multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society informed by the meaning of aloha. Above all, Sen. Obama embodies the message of Hawai'i to the world: Our diversity defines us rather than divides us.

That message is electrifying voters all across the nation. It is a message of unity, hope, optimism and promise. It accounts for the tidal wave of support Sen. Obama is building, which I trust will crest in Hawai'i.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbc...