Years back, before I came to the United States as an international student, as a native of India I always used to hear from pundits in the Indian media that Hillary Clinton would someday be the future president of the United States. As a lot of other Indians in India, I too used to favor her as the future president, mainly due to the large popularity of the former President Bill Clinton in that part of the world. However, when I came to the United States in fall 2006 though it still was early days for the presidential primaries, I heard the name of Barack Obama. Initially, as many other Americans and East Indian Americans I favored Hillary instead of him, and then in the December of 2007 there came a change. During my Winter break, I read Obamaʼs, Audacity of Hope, and started closely watching the democratic debates. Within, no time not only was he my candidate but in many ways than one even my idol. All in all, I think the rise of Sen. Obama isnʼt just a remarkable story of an individual, but the story of this great country, which gives everyone a fair opportunity.

 Raghvendra Singh

Warrensburg, Mo.