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Governor: Obama Has 'Ignited a Feeling of Involvement in Young People'

Jan. 20, 2009 — While thousands of V.I. residents gathered around the television Tuesday to watch the nation's new president take his oath of office, Gov. John deJongh Jr. and Delegate Donna M. Christensen were among the group of local dignitaries that braved the cold in Washington, D.C., to witness the historic event.
"Up here, just the number of people — particularly the young people — watching in the street and other places, it's just amazing," the governor said Tuesday during a telephone interview. "You really get that sense of being — that they want to be part of this, and I think it's great that the Virgin Islands are in there also, taking part in this very significant moment."
Sitting behind President Barack Obama as he gave his inauguration speech, deJongh attended the event with his son John P. deJongh III (JP).
"My son was there with me, and it was very interesting to see his reaction and how much he wanted to be there," the governor said. "I think this president has really ignited a feeling of involvement in young people — they're really getting the message that through politics you can influence policy, and that's just another benefit of having Barack Obama as president."
Obama's speech was particularly poignant, running through the myriad challenges facing the nation and offering up hope for a brighter future, deJongh said.
"I think it sent a very strong message internationally in terms of his polices and what he wants to achieve," the governor said. "From the closing of Guantanamo Bay to bringing home the troops — he's letting people know there's a standard and quality of life in the United States and we're going to protect it domestically and abroad."
On Monday, at a prayer service hosted by the Congressional Black Congress Foundation, Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa — winner of a Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to apartheid — offered up a prayer for the new president, according to Christensen.
"He was commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King and making the link to the new president," Christensen said. "He spoke about what the world is expecting from America, what they're waiting on us for, and everything he said, President Obama touched on in his speech today. He said that climate change is real and that we have to take steps to save the planet and human beings, that there are still hungry and poor in the world that need to be taken care of, and he spoke about bringing moral leadership to those countries that are in strife — it was amazing, almost point by point, everything that Bishop Tutu spoke about."
Though she was "freezing her toes off" during the inauguration ceremonies, Christensen said it was worth it to hear the president's speech.
"I thought it was at least everything that we all expected, if not more," Christensen said. "I think he struck all the right notes, and continued to talk about helping those in need — particularly providing each child with a good education, and making sure our citizens have access to health care. Today he showed the kind of leader that he's going to be, which is a fair and just person, someone who's able to look at all sides and put himself in someone else's shoes. He'll govern the way that everyone in the country expects him to, and wants to be governed."
Both the governor and the delegate plan to stick it out on the mainland for a little while longer — among the items on their agenda is working with other officials on the new federal economic-stimulus package and making sure the Virgin Islands gets a fair slice of the funding pie.
"What we did several months ago, is that we started discussions as part of the transition to make sure that the new administration was aware of the needs of the Virgin Islands and what we wanted," the governor said Tuesday. "We submitted a list of projects — over $700 million in projects that run the gamut in terms of improvements to our roads, ports, airports, schools and other areas — and we structured it in a way so that we put forth the projects that would be ready to go within 120 days. We had some meetings up here this week to make sure that we are able to structure our program so that when we get the money, we make sure we're able to use it. So we're working through it right now — the version of the bill we've seen is the House version, so there's nothing we can say that's final, but we are making sure that the territory gets its fair share of what goes into the bill."
But different factions within the Democratic caucus do not, at this point, agree with what's in the bill, Christensen said.
"Some Democrats feel like we should not have tax cuts in it," she explained. "They would like to see more attention paid to housing, the infrastructure projects, job training and climate-change issues so that we can invest that stimulus money that we don't have to create a better future and foundation for us all. And that's what the president has said he wants, so we want to be true to that. So we still have a lot of work left ahead of us to do."
Meanwhile, the trip home for both deJongh and Christensen will come before the governor's State of the Territory Address, scheduled for Monday evening.
"I'm trying to get home for the State of the Territory," Christensen said. "I haven't missed one yet, and I know this year is especially important. But in the meantime, we're going to be continuing our work — right now, there are a lot of people from the Virgin Islands up here, and everybody's just so glad that this day has come. We're just really rejoicing in it."
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