I’ll never forget tuning in to watch our lackluster presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, and being swept off my feet like a school girl by the keynote speaker, then Illinois Senate-hopeful Barack Obama. As a person of mixed racial heritage, the infamous “Audacity of Hope” speech shook by inner being: I had never heard or seen a politician who spoke from a place of true passion for justice and with a vision of an inclusive, prosperous America.

By the time he stood in a chilly Springfield town square to announce his candidacy, I was already sold. It seemed like a long shot at the time. On policy, his ideas weren’t terribly different from other candidates, but his charisma, passion, intellect and vision of grandeur were intoxicating. Being a “skinny kid with a funny name” resonated with many in my generation. As children of immigrants, firsts in the family to go to college, young adults when our nation was under attack, hearing Obama’s One America message gave us something to believe in.

But the last four years have been a challenge for President Obama, as well as his supporters who have had to watch his missteps and the rallying of conservatives against him. He courageously forged into healthcare reform, making early tradeoffs and negotiations in hopes of capturing bi-partisan support. While expending immeasurable amounts of political capital, his attempts at bi-partisanship came up short. The reform package – while certainly a step forward – fell short of the universal healthcare transformation our nation truly needs. In response to the economic crisis, the Democrats lack of strong message development and discipline, which ought to stem from the President’s leadership, have allowed the GOP to derail the stimulus debate to a slash and burn cost-cutting mandate, a foolish and nonsensical response to our economic woes.

And on immigration, President Obama has failed miserably. Unwilling to expend political capital on comprehensive immigration reform for a fractured movement that fails to deliver a well organized base, Mr. Obama has opted instead to take a hardline approach. The development and expansion of the Secure Communities program has resulted in more deportations of undocumented immigrants than under the Bush administration. The result: terror-ridden communities that are afraid to even come forward even when children are abused, as was seen in the scandal at Los Angeles’s Miramonte school.

While I am disheartened by President Obama’s leadership over the last four years, I still carry the audacity to hope for more in a second term. I still carry the belief that deep down, Barack Obama is not only one of us, but that he represents the future of America – what we as a nation will look like, the common value of inclusion and pride that we will share, and our vision for an America that is a responsible, respectful world leader.

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