Tonight I can stand here and say, that I will be the Democratic nominee, for the United States of America.
- Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)
As I numbly stared at the television screen in my hotel room Tuesday night, my brain tried to process what I was seeing on CNN. No matter how hard I tried, it seemed as if I just couldn't wrap my head around the true significance of what was taking place. For the first time in our nation's history, an African-American is a major party's nominee for President...and he defeated a woman to get to this point. This is no small thing, and perhaps if I hadn't been so damn tired and dragged down by the 12-hour days I've been working, I might have actually been able to appreciate the moment for it's historical significance.
During those couple hours, I watched Sen. John McCain's speech, and it was difficult not to be struck by the sad, sorry nature of his words. Instead of offering solid, defensible ideas, McCain spent his speech essentially mocking Obama- against a green backdrop that made him look positively evil and maniacal. I found it a sad and depressing counterpoint to the optimism and hope that has been the hallmark of the Obama campaign. Would McCain have drawn 75,000 people to Waterfront Park in Portland? Only if a live sex show had been his warm-up act...and even that might not guarantee a large turnout. Between the lame insults and putdowns and that stupid self-satisfied grin, McCain hardly seems a candidate likely to break from the Republican past.
In short, McCain is history. Obama is making history. Therein lies the difference between the choices facing Americans in November: more of the same (a third Bush term) vs. an opportunity to break with the past and reclaim this country from the neoConservative theocratic thugs whom we've allowed to run our government as their private playground for the past eight years. That may seem overly simplistic, but I honestly believe that's what this election campaign will be all about.
Then again, before I go all weak in the knees with optimism, I should probably remember that 54 million knuckle-dragging maroons voted for Our Glorious and Benevolent Leader © in 2004. If Republicans can steal one (and perhaps two) Presidential election, why not another?
