³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

I can't help thinking of Wordsworth's verse as I sit in a Chicago kitchen, listening to three students talk about the night Obama won, the night when they all went to Grant Park.

Chicago came to a standstill as people crammed into the park to listen as the results came in, state by state. Throughout the night, one of the students, Claire Hungerford, took a series of powerful photographs recording history unfolding. She says: "I was kind of wide-eyed, trying to soak in as much as I possibly could. It was a gift to be able to be there to experience it."

Her friend, Justin Staple, says: "We were sitting in my apartment four blocks away, so we hopped on the metro and were standing among a million people, right in the loop, getting very excited, very loud, very crowded - all excited for the same reason."

Bonnie Kate Walker, who you can see exultant in Claire's pictures, adds: "It was incredible. It was this huge mass of people and you felt outside of yourself. I don't think I have ever quite felt excitement like that."

That was election night in November. The inauguration was in January and tomorrow Obama will have been in office for one year.

You can make a checklist of the president's failures and achievements a year on - the stimulus package and other economic measures have doubtless had some effect but unemployment is still high.

Much of the world is pleased with his determination to engage and debate, but it didn't stop China's snub at the Copenhagen climate summit. Guantanamo Bay is not closed, the healthcare bill is not passed and new environmental legislation is nowhere in sight.
One firm achievement is increasing troop number in Afghanistan, but it is not one many core supporters would applaud.

But this sort of list is no substitute to listening to activists like these students.

Justin says: "I am a little disappointed. During the election there was the whole feeling that this was a time for change. We represented a generation that was a hopeful generation, with the hope that we would not be disillusioned again, that not every politician would turn out the same.

"We thought we could choose a figure who could stand for what he believes in, and not take pressures from Washington. That is something that has not happened. The reason I was so disappointed over the troop increase in Afghanistan is because it was such a poignant example of how the military can pressure the president."

Claire feels the same: "I feel disappointed in this new-found disconnect. I had really high expectations. My life hasn't changed. My family is dealing with the same problems. I feel a little bit let down but these expectations that we all had were a little negligent of the problems that were happening. I never really thought about the process of addressing the problems, I just wanted this immediate change, this top-to-bottom re-design."

It fascinates me that these dedicated campaigners feel let down, but also worried that they have been naive, and they have underestimated the powers ranged against their desires.

Bonnie Kate says: "Do I still have faith in Obama? The answer is 'Yes'. This country was like a freight train headed in the wrong direction and to stop that, and turn it around, takes a lot of power and a lot of time, and that is something I and a lot of activists didn't understand. We were so exited, and that was part of Grant Park, we were thinking - maybe this is the end, we no longer have to work so hard as activists.

"Healthcare is a perfect example of something that needed to happen, that people supported but you get this bill and whittled it down to nothing and people now don't care if it is passed or not."

This may not quite be a but there is danger here for Obama.

• Bookmark with:
• |
• |
• |
• |
• - What's this?