Reflecting after yesterday's inauguration

For many of us, yesterday's events are the culmination of two years of working at the grassroots level to get Barack Obama elected starting back before he officially entered the race in Feb. 2007.

The initial announcement was made via a simple video message uploaded to a sparse campaign website. Many supporters who had worked on the draft Obama effort wondered how a presidential level candidate could start off with such a simple web presence.

Of course, eventually Obama rolled out a web machine that would propel him far ahead of the competition in online prowess. The former Illinois senator came to depend on his online support to offset the establishment backing of chief primary opponent Hillary Clinton.

I can clearly remember how many people I know, who really wanted to see change, would say that America was still not ready to elect an African American into the White House. A few acquaintances, very thoughtful and informed in these matters, thought the country was still decades, or 50 years or more from reaching that point.

However, many of my generation, and I'm about a year and a half older than Barack, who tinker in politics were aware of changes that have occurred in the mentality of many Americans, especially younger ones. Obama himself seems to have been well aware of these changes himself.

These changes have been going on for a long time, but most politicians rarely bother to target young people as part of the main thrust of their campaign. Every candidate has some youth outreach, but this is usually merely an aside to the primary focus of reaching likely voters, who tend to be older.

Obama though realized that he had to concentrate on younger and more progressive voters. And he knew that the internet was a great place to find such voters. The internet is an integrated area much like Obama's original home state of Hawai'i, or like the armed forces. Integrated environments breed familiarity and reduce "otherness."

His own upbringing and his techical savvy made him aware of these opportunites to change the electoral map.

Now it wasn't an easy road. During the summer of 2007, for example, Obama plummeted in the polls against Clinton, with the latter beginning to look like the "inevitable" candidate. The primary battle, in particular, was long and rigorous. The plan though eventually brought victory.

Now, with Obama taking the reins as the 44th president, expectations and the stakes are high. He may have a tough time coming through with some of his promises in the current environment. Some have wondered whether some of his cabinet picks will work energetically enough to push through his agenda, when they have expressed differing views in the past.

What most of us who have been around from the start have learned, however, is that Obama cannot not do this all by himself. Change comes from the people. Obama, at best, can act as an instrument of the people. As Obama said himself, we are the change that we seek.