By Rob Miller
Utah State Democratic Vice Chair
Throughout my time on this planet there have been several, yet rare events that have occurred that were life altering in an inspiring and spiritual nature. Some of those experiences include the day I married my wife Michelle, the birth of my children Abby, Anna, and Sami, the day my father passed away, and being with my grandmother when she finally received her endowments and was sealed to her husband and children at age 96 in the Salt Lake Temple.
Although I have never thought in my wildest dreams that my political journey could ever bring me to the same state of inspiration as the above events, I can say that attending the 2008 Democratic National Convention, especially the night when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama accepted the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for president, was one of those moments.
When I arrived in Denver on Saturday, Aug. 23, in the late morning the first two people I ran into from our Utah delegation was former Utah State Sen. Karen Hale and Current State Sen. Pat Jones who helped me find my way to the shuttle that took me to the Warwick Hotel in downtown Denver. I can’t think of two better examples of dedicated Utah public servants than Karen and Pat, and both of these two ladies played instrumental parts in my journey in becoming a Utah State Democratic Party officer.
In 2004 I was inspired by Scott Matheson, Jr.’s and Sen. Karen Hale’s Democratic campaign for governor and lieutenant governor, and Sen. Jones was one of the first people to endorse my campaign for vice chair.
Sunday night I attended a event at Red Rocks amphitheater called Green Day at Red Rocks. It was here that I listened to Robert Kennedy, Jr. speak about the opportunities of building a green economy. It was also where I received the phone call from Utah State Senate District 23 Candidate, Richard Watson, that his opponent Dan Liljenquist’s plane had crashed. Richard was very distraught by the news, and called me so I could call my wife because he knew that Dan’s wife Brooke and my wife are friends. After calling Michelle I said a silent prayer for Dan and his family and was relieved to hear the next day that Dan had survived and that he would be home soon with his family.
On Tuesday, I watched Hillary Clinton once again throw her support to Sen. Obama, and on Wednesday I watched her husband, former President Bill Clinton, do the same — and once again I was inspired to see our party coming together as I watched Sen. Joe Biden accept the nomination to be Sen. Obama’s running mate, but nothing up to this point compared to what I would experience on Thursday at INVESCO’s Mile High Stadium.
I arrived at the stadium early and found my seat with our Utah Delegation. As the stadium quickly filled, I felt in awe with the understanding that I was there with 82,000-plus others who like me wanted to see Barack Obama become our next president.
When the tribute to Martin Luther King played I was reminded that it had been 45 years before when Dr. Martin Luther King had given his, “I have a dream” speech. I also realized that it was my father Michael’s birthday, and the emotion of that reality brought me to these words from Dr. King’s last speech, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”
“Was Dr. King Speaking about this moment in history?” I thought, and once again I felt tears of understanding fill my eyes.
When Barack Obama spoke that night I again thought of my own Obama conversion story, and then this scripture, Matthew 5:16, came to mind, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
For me this scripture explains Sen. Barack Obama’s amazing journey to become our Democratic Nominee and more than probably our next president. When he spoke on Thursday night he not only spoke to Democrats but to all of the citizens of the United States and it is my prayer that Utahns will open their hearts to his message and join me on Nov. 4 when we will elect our next American President
Although I have never thought in my wildest dreams that my political journey could ever bring me to the same state of inspiration as the above events, I can say that attending the 2008 Democratic National Convention, especially the night when Illinois Sen. Barack Obama accepted the nomination to be the Democratic candidate for president, was one of those moments.
When I arrived in Denver on Saturday, Aug. 23, in the late morning the first two people I ran into from our Utah delegation was former Utah State Sen. Karen Hale and Current State Sen. Pat Jones who helped me find my way to the shuttle that took me to the Warwick Hotel in downtown Denver. I can’t think of two better examples of dedicated Utah public servants than Karen and Pat, and both of these two ladies played instrumental parts in my journey in becoming a Utah State Democratic Party officer.
In 2004 I was inspired by Scott Matheson, Jr.’s and Sen. Karen Hale’s Democratic campaign for governor and lieutenant governor, and Sen. Jones was one of the first people to endorse my campaign for vice chair.
Sunday night I attended a event at Red Rocks amphitheater called Green Day at Red Rocks. It was here that I listened to Robert Kennedy, Jr. speak about the opportunities of building a green economy. It was also where I received the phone call from Utah State Senate District 23 Candidate, Richard Watson, that his opponent Dan Liljenquist’s plane had crashed. Richard was very distraught by the news, and called me so I could call my wife because he knew that Dan’s wife Brooke and my wife are friends. After calling Michelle I said a silent prayer for Dan and his family and was relieved to hear the next day that Dan had survived and that he would be home soon with his family.
On Tuesday, I watched Hillary Clinton once again throw her support to Sen. Obama, and on Wednesday I watched her husband, former President Bill Clinton, do the same — and once again I was inspired to see our party coming together as I watched Sen. Joe Biden accept the nomination to be Sen. Obama’s running mate, but nothing up to this point compared to what I would experience on Thursday at INVESCO’s Mile High Stadium.
I arrived at the stadium early and found my seat with our Utah Delegation. As the stadium quickly filled, I felt in awe with the understanding that I was there with 82,000-plus others who like me wanted to see Barack Obama become our next president.
When the tribute to Martin Luther King played I was reminded that it had been 45 years before when Dr. Martin Luther King had given his, “I have a dream” speech. I also realized that it was my father Michael’s birthday, and the emotion of that reality brought me to these words from Dr. King’s last speech, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land!”
“Was Dr. King Speaking about this moment in history?” I thought, and once again I felt tears of understanding fill my eyes.
When Barack Obama spoke that night I again thought of my own Obama conversion story, and then this scripture, Matthew 5:16, came to mind, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."
For me this scripture explains Sen. Barack Obama’s amazing journey to become our Democratic Nominee and more than probably our next president. When he spoke on Thursday night he not only spoke to Democrats but to all of the citizens of the United States and it is my prayer that Utahns will open their hearts to his message and join me on Nov. 4 when we will elect our next American President
