Privately, those of us in government will acknoledge this gap between the politics we have and the politics we need. Certainly Democrats aren't happy with the current situation, since for the moment at least they are on the losing side, dominated by Republicans who, thanks to winner-take-all elections, control every branch of government and feel no need to compromise. Thoughtful Republicans shouldn't be too sanguine, though, for if Democrats have had trouble winning, it appears that Republicans- having won elections on the basis of pledges that often defy reality (tax cuts without service cuts, privatization of Social Security with no change in benefits, war without sacrifice)- cannot govern.
- Barack Obame, The Audacity of Hope, p. 23
I endorsed Sen. Barack Obama way back in August, when he was anything but a front runner. No one knew, or could have known, at the time that his message would resonate so strongly with what's now a majority of voters. I strongly believe now, as I did in August, that Obama represents by far the best option and the most likely of the three semi-finalists to actually endeavor to move this country in a new direction. It's been gratifying to see my choice validated time and time again over the past few months, and while I can't predict the future, I find it difficult not to experience something close to optimism when I hear him speak.
Conversely, when I see HRC's smug countenance spewing forth on the righteousness of her cause, I have to restrain my gag reflex. Her self-interested willingness to employ any means necessary- including tactics right out of Karl Rove's playbook- to win the Democratic nomination sickens me. I'm to the point now where when I see her face on television, I literally have to change the channel. And to think I held an almost inestimable admiration for her (and her husband, whom I also no longer have any use for). Slash-and-burn is a damn poor way to run a campaign that supposed to result in the Democratic Party united behind the eventual nominee. Then again, for HRC, winning isn't everything. It's the ONLY thing.
No, Obama doesn't walk and water, and he sure as Hell isn't going to turn water into whine as the Clinton campaign has managed to do. He won't be changing the way business is done in Washington overnight, if at all. Too much of that greed and corruption is simply hard-coded onto the DNA of inside-the-Beltway culture, and no one should reasonably be expecting avarice and self-interest to suddenly take a back seat to altruism and the desire to do the right thing for the right reasons. Not when there's money to be made. Besides, Presidents come and go. Trust funds are forever.
For the first time in my life, I'm supporting a Presidential candidate whose fortunes I actually feel emotionally invested in. I suppose if has something to do with the fact that Sen. Obama and I are the same age (48). This is the first Presidential campaign in which I've been able to say that, and I'm surprised to discover that this simple reality means more to me than I could reasonably have anticipated. There are a number of other far more serious and importants factors behind my endorsement of Sen. Obama, of course, but for the first time in my life I feel part of a generation chiefly responsible for determing the fate and condition of the world we turn over to our children. Barack Obama is, in my estimation, the only candidate who truly seems to get that and is not only cognizant of that truth, but willing to place that as a central tenet of his campaign.
I don't believe, nor do I expect, that Barack Obama will heal the sick, feed the poor (though I'd love if it he had the power to strike Republithugs dumb). He is not The Chosen One. What he can be, and what I believe he will be, is a President who speaks to our good angels and can use the power of the bully pulpit to inspire this nation to aspire to be something greater than it already is.
Though his campaign hasn't always displayed complete and flawless purity of spirit and intent, it certainly has risen about the lies, distortions, half-truths, and the "fear and smear" tactics that have been part and parcel of both Sen. McCain's and Sen. Clinton's campaign thus far. Sen. Obama has responded to attacks when necessary, but what you haven't- and likely won't- hear from him are the sort of mean-spirited and baseless attempts at character assassination that have oozed from the other two campaigns. "Maverick"?? "If you can't stand the hear, get out of the kitchen"?? Please...give me a (&^%$#@ break, willya? Outside of the different parties they pledge allegiance to, you couldn't slip a fiber-optic thread through the differences between HRC and John McCain. It's time for a change, y'all....
This year, change is more than just a cheap mantra designed to lull the American Sheeple into a sense of complacency. This year, change can actually mean something...if only Americans will roust themselves from their slumber long enough to actually pay attention and do the right thing, instead of doing the usual thing and voting against their own interests because they've been thoroughly propagandized for their protection.
It's a pretty simple choice, really. Do you want more of the same? Or are you willing to take off your blinders, see the state of our country for what it currently and truly is, and make your vote count? I certainly hope...because I sure as Hell am.
IT'S TIME FOR A CHANGE, Y'ALL....
