The President of the Rutgers Democrats, Alex Holodak, was scheduled to give a speech of his own with Governor Corzine and President Obama at the rally in Holmdel, NJ. Due to time constrictions with the President, Alex did not actually get to speak. While this allowed the crowd to have more time hearing from President Obama, we think Alex wrote an amazing speech and deserves to have it out there for people to at least read. That speech, in its entirety, is below.

Good afternoon and welcome fellow New Jerseyans, members of the Rutgers community and welcome to our very special guest, the President of the United States, Barack Obama!  Now, we are all here at the PNC Bank Arts Center, yet it matters not where you sit, but by whom you sit.  Look now to your right, look to your left.  They are your friends, they are your peers; this is your community, this is our state.  We are here today for the common purpose of demonstrating our confidence in and our support for the governor of the great state of New Jersey – Jon Corzine!If education is not our top priority today, then we invite failure tomorrow. To this noble end, Governor Corzine has endeavored to strengthen our schools, support our teachers and inspire our students.  Without fear, Governor Corzine has not simply stepped on the so-called third rail of New Jersey politics, but has in fact dared to neutralize it.  Once considered improbable, if not impossible, he signed legislation to consolidate school districts and services, thereby eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy and realizing greater efficiencies.

Breaking a 40 year impasse on school funding, Governor Corzine implemented a new formula that has brought our state’s students back into focus, one which provides for a more equitable distribution of funds and increases funding for special education.

Owing to our governors great efforts, we boast the highest graduation rates in the country.  New Jersey is ranked #1 by Education Weekly for preschool enrollments and New Jersey students are also considered among the best prepared for higher education.  We must now resolve to work hard so as to allow Governor Corzine another four years so he may continue raising the standards in education.

Jon Corzine is a chief executive, with proven successes in both public and private sectors, who has made tough decisions, and whose steady hand has steered our ship of state through a dark time. The current financial crisis looms large over us all, but we may find comfort in the seasoned financial expert, that is our governor, who leads our state.  It is today, more than any other, worth mentioning that when the Obama administration crafted the economic stimulus plan, which has saved tens of thousands of jobs and strengthened our economy, they went to one of the nation’s foremost authorities on finance – Jon Corzine.  Described by Vice President Joe Biden as, “America’s Governor,” Jon Corzine possesses precisely the knowledge and ideas of leadership necessary in this tumultuous time.

As president of the Rutgers Democrats, I am here today as, yes, a partisan.  So-called partisan politics is decried in the media as a dirty word, but let’s take a look around. We should be proud to call ourselves democrats!  I am proud to be here with my peers from the University, I am proud to be here with Rutgers President Richard McCormick, and I am very proud to be here with Jon Corzine and Barack Obama!

Speaking now, to those specifically of my generation, we must realize that what our president has said is true – that this is our time!  We can no longer sit idly by with indifference and apathy.  We possess the potential for immense political power, but many of us choose to ignore our obligations, instead finding blissful ignorance in hollow distractions.  Don’t get me wrong, we all require and deserve outlets and levity, but I beg you to focus your energies this fall to the task at hand of re-electing Governor Corzine.

Today we have had an open and honest dialogue with one another. Yes, we are, for the most part, all democrats, but it need not be limited to one party.  If explained gently, with kindness and patience, our friends from the other side of the isle will recognize what we know to be true.  I recognize politics will not change overnight, but I also acknowledge that is changing.  I believe we stand at a precipice. Bastions of the old guard have signaled that even they are aware of the change that is so undeniably in the air.  Look to Washington, where a woman serves as Speaker of the House, where a man who less than century ago could not even vote, serves as our nations president. Look to Europe, once separated by differences, now united in their common humanity.  Look even to the Vatican, where Pope Benedict speaks not of maintaining the status quo, but of large changes. Up until today, there has been only tacit acknowledgement of the immense change that is taking place.

Well, today, I challenge you to join me in turning the page.  The seemingly endless chapter of old, dirty politics is over – we must turn the page.  The days we were on the sidelines are over – turn the page.  Gone is the fear and insecurity – We will turn the page this November!  But let it not stop there.  Let us continue this frank discussion.  Let us continue to have ideas and to take action.  We must endeavor to bring back the public square that is so necessary for the vital exchange of ideas, which drives that steady march of progress. So with that said, I invite those of you Rutgers students, to join our organization, the Rutgers Democrats on Facebook, Twitter.com/RUDems, or rudemocrats.com and to all of you to follow me at twitter.com/alexholodak so we can continue this discussion as we move forward.

Finally, I would like to thank the Corzine campaign for the opportunity to speak today.  I also would like to express my appreciation to Rutgers University. They have gone above and beyond to help our student organization in this effort. I am proud to be a product of Rutgers University.

In closing, Martin Luther King told us that, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.“ I want you to know that this matters! November 3rd matters! Our state matters! And re-electing Jon Corzine matters! Go vote and spread the word! Thank you!

-Alex Holodak, 2009

“For the world has changed, and we must change with it”, proclaimed Barack Hussein Obama on a cold January morning, minutes after he took the oath of office to become the 44th President of the United States. He made a pledge to the world; a great promise of internationalism that hasn’t been seen since John F. Kennedy. America is now lead by a president whose thought process can be traced to a vast diversity of international experiences. Obama has walked a path in life that few American presidents can boast, although that isn’t to say that people aren’t wary. During my recent trip to India, I was bombarded with many questions about the new President.

What is his commitment to the subcontinent? Will he try to stop the outsourcing of jobs? How would he deal with Pakistan? Recovering from the senseless attacks in Mumbai, most Indians that I speak to are entranced by Obama’s oratory and his star power, but quickly return to the cynical reality they hold so dear. With the area under control by Taliban expanding in the north-eastern regions of Pakistan, Talibanistan, India lies only a few hundred miles away. Many of my Indian friends professed to me their fear that Obama might be too soft on Pakistan. This is contradicted by his ever swift response in condemning the Mumbai attacks, his stern willingness to continue the war in Afghanistan by increasing the number of troops there, and to break away from his predecessors in condemning Pakistan’s inability to root out terrorist networks. He understands that the central front on the “War on Terror” is in Afghanistan, and is a test of endurance for the rest of the Muslim world, especially in the Middle East.

Military strategies aside, one gets a sense that President Obama understands that one of the strengths of networks like Al-Qaeda is their ability to propagate their ideological hatred. Even now, as thousands of madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan train young Muslims at a young age to fear the Jews and Hindus as enemies, Obama understands that a war strategy alone cannot assuage feelings of despair and hate that arise from years of economic and political instability. He knows that this is as much a war of ideology as it is a war of weapons. In the recent interview with Al-Arabiya, he spoke of his willingness to break away from the reckless Bush administration neologisms like “Islamofascism” and “American crusade.” At the same time, however, he refused to respect terrorist organizations and called their ideas bankrupt.

The most astute of his observations in that interview was how he saw no economic benefit for the people of the Arab world, from those that propagate these hateful ideologies. Having lived in Indonesia, one of the largest Muslim countries, and having witnessed conditions like abject poverty and lack of a decent infrastructure, the President can brag some institutional knowledge about conditions that lead people to embrace the extremist ideology. His heritage, which television pundits predicted would lead to his electoral demise and was often used by right wing zealots to undermine him, is now suddenly an asset for the simple reason that the Muslim world, in general, is less likely to be hostile to a man who once called the evening Islamic prayer as “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.” The terrorists are desperately trying to quell the Obamania that is sweeping across the world. They face an adversary who flaunts an aura of internationalism that has never been seen before in modern history, one that makes all Americans declare, “We are ready to lead again.”

The crowd was large enough that, for the first time ever, the entire two-mile expanse of the Mall was open to the public. The ceremonies began at ten o’clock in the morning with musical selections from The United States Marine Band, as well as a stirring performance of “Let Freedom Ring” by Aretha Franklin.

The ceremony did not go on without a hitch, however. Obama stood before Chief Justice John Roberts with his left hand on the bible used by Abraham Lincoln, and Chief Justice Roberts, who was reciting the oath to Obama from memory, incorrectly stated, “I will execute the Office of President to the United States faithfully,” rather than “that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States.” While Roberts restated the line correctly, President Obama decided to repeat the line how Roberts first delivered it. The rest of the oath was taken without incident, but President Obama still retook the oath the following day.

White House Counsel Greg Craig stated that this was simply due to an “abundance of caution,” assuring that Obama had been the President since he was first sworn in. In the inaugural address that followed, President Obama spoke extensively on the troubles faced by the country. “The challenges we face are real,” he said. “They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America – they will be met.” Recognizing how the faults of the previous administration have affected world opinion of the U.S., Obama stated that “America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child… [and] we are ready to lead once more.”

President Obama now faces not only questions over how to handle the military occupation of both Iraq and Afghanistan, but an economy in a downturn reminiscent of what was faced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. Already in his first few days in office, Obama has begun reversing key Bush policies in the ‘War on Terror,’ signing executive orders to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay within a year and forcing all interrogations to follow non-coercive methods. These actions can be seen as a strong beginning to the first one hundred days where the tone of the Obama Presidency will be revealed.