Hawaii's Still Waters Run Deep for the President-Elect

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: Hawaii's Still Waters Run Deep for the President-Elect
By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 2, 2009; Page C01


When visiting his native state last August, Barack Obama hit the beach to body-surf and stroll the shores. "What's best in me, and what's best in my message, is consistent with the tradition of Hawaii," the president-elect has said. (Alex Brandon/AP)

HONOLULU -- In his two weeks in Hawaii, Barack Obama has oozed island cool: the black shades and khaki shorts, the breezy sandaled saunter that suggested he had not a care in the world. Who said anything about the presidency?

He strolled shirtless near the beach, enjoyed a shave ice and a local seaweed-wrapped delicacy called Spam musubi. One day, the president-elect flashed the friendly "shaka" sign, shaking his pinky and thumb in a local surfing gesture.

But for the BlackBerry clipped to his left hip, Obama appeared to be channeling the aloha spirit of his native Hawaii. Far more than a greeting, Hawaiians' aloha -- which has many meanings -- often connotes a certain laid-back live-and-let-live attitude. Translated literally, it means the breath of life. But aloha is also sometimes interpreted as an acronym for five words meaning kindness (akahai), unity (lokahi), agreeability (olu'olu), humility (ha'aha'a) and patience (ahonui).

Friends here say the country's first island-born president-elect has long carried more than a touch of the aloha spirit in his temperament. During the campaign, many admirers questioned whether Obama was too passive in his battles against Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. John McCain.

"That's Hawaii," declared Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-Hawaii), a contemporary of Obama's parents who has known the president-elect since birth. "You take negative energy and you process it through you and it comes out as positive energy. . . . Every time Obama comes on television now, the collective blood pressure in the United States goes down 10 points. He cools the water. He's sober and he speaks sensibly in a calm manner that breeds confidence."

As Obama's wife, Michelle, has said, "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii."...

Hawaii is a tropical paradise so diverse that there is no majority race, a land where residents talk so openly about identity that many call themselves "chop suey": chopped up meats and vegetables poured over white rice. To resolve disagreements, some locals employ an indigenous practice called ho'oponopono, which means to make things right through discussion and forgiveness....

***

"When you live on a rock, on an island, you learn to understand that everyone is critical to the success and survival of that space," said Ramsay Taum, a Honolulu native and administrator at the University of Hawaii. "You have to get over your quibbles quickly."...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/01/AR2009010102035.html?nav=most_emailed

[elleng]

1. Posted elsewhere.

Check THESE out!

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/04/travel/0104-MAUI_index.html

[mahina]

2. Lovely article, thank you for posting!

Just what I needed right now, mahalo.

[Bucky]

3. kicked for your consideration

:dem:

[SKKY]

4. Hawaii, or Crawford...

Hmmm. It's a tough decision. Where would I rather vacation? :sarcasm:

[firedupdem]

5. Nice Article. Thank You...

I would much rather have a leader with these qualities instead of some dumb fuck practicing cops and robbers with the United States. I don't appreciate "dumb" in leadership. Barack Obama will be a pleasant change for this torn country.

[fortyfeetunder]

6. Hawaii, my favorite state

I haven't been there in awhile -- but whenever I get a blood pressure reading, imagining myself being in Hawaii, stepping into the warm waters and floating on the surface with my snorkel mask on.

[FrenchieCat]

7. My favorite place in all of the world.....

and I have been to many places.