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As I watched highlights from the recent opening of the Obama Presidential Center, I couldn’t help but remember the night I first heard then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) make his pitch to Iowa caucusgoers in 2008.
It was at that moment I understood something truly profound was happening. Obama was charting a new direction in presidential politics. I wanted to be aboard his ship.
Lucky for me, I had two chances to meet Obama before he was elected president. The first was in June 2007, when I spent 45 minutes introducing him to a gathering of 30 prominent Democrats in Orange County. The second was the month before he traveled to Denver to accept the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2008. That’s when Obama stopped by the Balboa Bay Club for a major fundraiser.
When it was my turn to have my picture taken with him, he warmly greeted me by saying, “I remember you from last year.” I was both thrilled and momentarily speechless.
After the photos were taken, I moved away from Obama’s right shoulder, but not before turning back and saying to him, “Senator, we’re all counting on you.”
He looked at me and replied, “I won’t let you down.”
And you know what? He never did — not from a policy perspective, a leadership perspective, or a personal one.
Throughout his eight years in office, I continually marveled at the way Obama reminded Americans that our collective, national interests far outweighed selfish, individual pursuits. He understood that concepts such as habeas corpus, freedom of the press and the peaceful transfer of power were not abstract ideas or random thoughts, but part of the very fabric that protects this ongoing experiment we call democracy.
For me, that brief exchange at the Balboa Bay Club wasn’t just a memorable political moment. It was a promise made — and a promise kept.
The years since Obama left office have underscored for me just how important character, temperament and respect for the rule of law are for a president. Too often, our politics have become darker, more divisive and more centered on personal gain than common purpose.
My hope is that millions of Americans will visit the Obama Presidential Center and be reminded, once again, of a time when hope, unity and faith in our democratic ideals occupied a more prominent place in our national conversation.
Denny Freidenrich writes from Laguna Beach, California. He served as a congressional staff assistant on Capitol Hill in 1972.
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