It's time to pass the torch to new leadership

As I watched the Republican National Convention on television and heard the same ideas and policies being put forward that have been in place for the past eight years, I couldn't help but remember the adventurous spirit and enthusiasm that John F. Kennedy brought to the entire country nearly half a century ago. On that January day when he took the oath of office, he proclaimed, "The torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans." It was a time in this country when we as citizens were inspired by bold ideas, innovation, and a new style of leadership.

President Clinton also fully understood this need for renewal. In his first inaugural address, in 1993, he said that "America, to endure, would have to change. Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals - to renew America, we must be bold."

In the past eight years we've witnessed our brave military become entrenched in two ongoing wars, our economy stall, our standing in the world plummet, and our need for new energy resources become critical. Again, we find ourselves yearning for a new style of leadership, a new passing of the torch.

Our choice this November is clear. In Barack Obama, the Democratic Party has nominated a candidate who is elevating the political discourse, energizing young voters, connecting people in red states and blue states, and raising the hopes of Americans on the promise of the American dream.

We have nominated a candidate whose biography would be possible only in this country, who overcame the odds as a child raised by a single mother, who after law school lived in and worked with the impoverished communities of Chicago, and who has engaged in public service at ground level. His career has grown from the grass roots, and he will be guided by that background as president. Barack Obama has lived change and will change lives.

Let us pass that torch once again to a new generation of Americans, to Barack Obama.

Illinois Sen. Susan Garrett is a Lake Forest Democrat. The Daily Herald is running a series of counterpoint columns during the Republican National Convention as it did for the Democratic National Convention.