I watched the Democratic National Convention at my alma mater Virginia Commonwealth University. A student organization called ‘Students for Obama’ hosted a viewing party in the student commons. The turnout was amazing. The room only allowed 150 students, but students were standing on in the hallway and sitting on the floor to take a peak at this historic night. The energy that night was electric; students clapped, laughed, and listened intently as Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president.

                The excitement in the room that night was inspiring, a true testament to the renewed interest in politics among young voters. After the speech I talked with students to get their reaction and almost all of them spoke of a sense of responsibility. This election cycle students and young voters feel they have a responsibility to vote, because they apart of a movement larger than themselves. There’s this idea that they have an invested interested in the turnout of the campaign good or bad.

                The night was also special because Barack Obama is the first black man to accept the Democratic nomination for president. This historic acceptance speech landed on the 45^th anniversary of the Martin Luther King Jr, “I Have A Dream” speech. Surprisingly, it seems race has played a small factor in the election cycle. I for one am proud of an American politic environment that welcomes a black man as a strong Democratic candidate. I’m also grateful that Obama for the most part has been judged on his record more so than his race. If anything hurts him this election it will be his lack of experience not the fact that he is black. This is my opinion, I’m sure some would beg to differ. Whether Barack wins or not we will all remember the night he made history on August 28^th capturing the nomination and seemingly bringing MLK’s dream full circle.