By Barack Obama
It’s become increasingly obvious to me that one of the reasons I’m not getting a higher percentage of the vote in some of the Democratic primaries may be that people are confused by my message – my message of Hope. I know it sounds simple enough. I thought it was a pretty basic, universally understandable concept. I thought people understood. Apparently, I was wrong.
I think the main problem is that Americans have gone so long without having any hope, that they’ve simply forgotten what it is. What’s more, they’ve forgotten such a word ever existed. As a result, they have no idea what I’m talking about, when I talk about Hope.
Allow me to give an example. A woman in Pennsylvania came up to me outside a diner, and asked me why I was spreading the message of the Pope. She said, “Don’t we have enough religion rammed down our throats as it is?”
I told her “No, no. I respect the Pope, but my message is the message of Hope.”
She said, “What? The message of rope?”
I said, “No, the message of Hope.”
“Nope?”
“Hope.”
“What? Dope?”
I said, “No, no. The message of Hope. Hope.”
And on and on it went. It should be no surprise I lost Pennsylvania.
So perhaps it’s time for a little refresher course in the meaning of Hope. Merriam-Webster defines Hope as “desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment.” Now, I know it’s been a long time for you, the American people, since your desires have been fulfilled. Believe me, I don’t blame you for forgetting the meaning of a word so seldom used in the America of George W. Bush and his administration. So might I suggest you take a moment or two to study up on the word a bit, and the accompanying concept. That way, there won’t be any more confusion about my message, and everyone will know where I stand. Otherwise I may have people coming up to me in Indiana asking why I’m spreading the message of Soap.
