Aug 28, 2008 10:25 pm US/Central
Families Glued To TVs For Obama Speech
Hometown Pride, Feeling Of History Being Made, Chicagoans Say
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Many families in Chicago and around the country were glued to their television sets Thursday night to watch Barack Obama's acceptance speech. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports the draw is more than hometown pride. It's a chance for young people to understand the historic significance of this moment.
The Stanciel family watched the Democratic National Convention this week, culminating in what they say is the most historic moment in their lives as Obama, an African American, accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
Eight year-old Lauren says Obama has inspired her on many levels.
"No person is too big or too small to accomplish something," she said. "That I can succeed in my dreams, if I try my best."
"That same kid said, when Obama defeated Hillary, 'good so, I have a chance ,so I can become the first woman president,'" her father, Kevin Stanciel, said.
Earlier in the evening as the Stanciels ate dinner together, their minds were on what the Illinois senator would say during his acceptance speech.
"I want to hear him talk about how far we've come as a country because it seems they're really not trying to make race a big issue, but it's a big deal," Tracy Stanciel said.
"I want to hear an inspirational speech with some specifics to get his critics off his back, so we can move forward and he gets a bump in the polls and hopefully he'll go on to become president," Kevin Stanciel said.
Ten-year-old Ginger and Lauren have been very involved in Obama's run for the presidency, so much so that their parents took them to Springfield for Obama's vice presidential announcement.
"He could fix the economy," Ginger said. "He could stop the war. He could do a lot of things."
"He should probably address the economy mostly because gas is a lot of money, it's a lot of things and the gas tax is just going to keep rising and rising," Ginger added.
Her final thoughts after the speech was over?
"Phenomenal," she said.
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