Obama's Inauguration Speech

MTV's Be The Change: Live From The Inaugural - Celebrity News

On a warm summer night in Singapore I sat at the comfort of my home and participated in an historic event - the election of the first black president of the US. America has always had a very soft spot in my heart. I discovered much of my strength, beauty and potential while I was studying in the US. I loved many of the American people who embraced me so warmly when I first went to live, work and study in the US. Many of these Americans continue to be my best friends and beacons of a light in my world. Their sense of hope, optimism, originality and fearless clarity is what has always touched me. More recently during the Bush era I returned many times to US for visits. With each visit I felt the American people become more tired and more disillusioned. The America that I experienced in 1997 with an air of confidence and energy had slowly eroded away. I was shocked and saddened. A close galfriend of mine and a former colleague at my US law firm told me that she was taking a year off to help her friend run his presidential campaign. I did not really understand what she meant two years ago when she was telling me about her classmate Obama and his quest for the US presidency. Now watching Obama and his electrifying speeches I share the sense of energy and hope that I saw in her eyes over dinner in Pasadena, LA.

The ability for one man to galvanize thousands and millions of people across class, states and countries is awe inspiring and deeply affirming. When he speaks it comes from a deep place within - a place of deep conviction and hope. It is not just the message but his mode and style of delivery which is deeply compelling. Public speaking is an art and just like all other arts it acquires a magical quality in the hands of a true artist. Obama to me is the ultimate artist. His innate ability to marry personal stories, divinity, strategy and values into one beautiful speech and infuse it with energy and power is a gift. A gift that has immense power to heal, uplift and transcend barriers and unite people.