"The World as It Is Is not the World as It Has to Be."

February 19, 2008 12:33 AM

t's been almost nine years since I turned eighteen. That means that the two presidential elections I've been able to participate in were the same two that George W. Bush won. That's not a great track record, but what's even worse is that, while I voted for the Democratic candidate in both of those elections, I didn't really like either one of them. The best I could say was that I disliked Al Gore and John Kerry less than I disliked George W. Bush. Neither of the Democratic nominees in the past two elections has resonated with me. In fact, I can't think of a single candidate for any office in my entire life that's ever gotten me excited. That changed tonight.

Mr. Vice, pH, and I traveled down to Beloit tonight to see Barack Obama. In the past few weeks, I had become increasingly excited about Mr. Obama. His performance in the debates and the snippets I'd seen of his speeches made him seem like a guy with big ideas and solid plans to implement those ideas. Seeing him in person confirmed what I had hoped: Mr. Obama is a practical idealist. I love that he's not afraid to talk about big concepts like the American dream, hope, or the ideals the Founding Fathers believed in. I love that he things those basic concepts are still valid and, perhaps more importantly, relevant to today's problems. I love that he talks about working together to solve every obstacle this country faces. I love that he talks about seeing past the social and political constructs that make us different and recognizing, instead, the things that make us exactly the same.

But I love the fact that he's not naive just as much. Mr. Obama seems to recognize that nothing's going to get done simply by repeating some slogan over and over again. The man has ideals, but he knows that nothing will get accomplished without hard work, dedication, sacrifice, and compromise. He doesn't seem like a man who, if he doesn't get what he wants, will simply stamp his foot and repeat his demand over and over. Rather, he seems sophisticated--and open minded--enough to work with others, regardless of their political affiliation, to reach a mutually beneficial goal.

Just as important, though, is the fact that his ideals seem to match up almost completely with my own. He puts a high emphasis on education, but he also recognizes that education means more than vocational training. He made a point of mentioning art and music education in his speech tonight. That's awesome. He acknowledges his racial background, but he's refuses to be defined by it. It would be easy for him to exploit the fact that he's the first serious black presidential candidate, but he didn't. I respect that immensely. He reveres the Constitution, and he doesn't think that it's impossible to both protect ourselves and stay well within the realm of constitutionally permitted behavior.

But what impressed me most about Mr. Obama was his earnestness. Any Democratic candidate knows what to say to a crowd to get them fired up: universal health care, education, the environment, the Iraq War. It's not hard to know to mention these things or what positions to take--anyone who can read a poll knows those answers. But Mr. Obama made me believe that his words were prompted by more than a desire to garner votes. As far as I'm concerned, he says these things because he believes them. Maybe he's just a much more charismatic man than any of his opponents, or maybe he's just an amazing salesman, but--and I know this is corny--I believe in him.

And that's saying something. In the past eight years, I've met several different people from several different countries. And I'm sick of having to apologize for or attempt to explain George W. Bush. I'm sick of living in a country whose leader thinks that torturing people is in some way acceptable. I'm sick of the division in this country. I'm sick of what America has become in the time that I've had a political voice. I know this word's been completely played out in this campaign, but it's time for a change. And from where I'm sitting, Barack Obama's the real deal.

Honestly, he makes me proud to be an American again.

9 Comments

Who? said:

Mr. Obama is a practical idealist? No. More of a charismatic socialist. Don't get me wrong. He will be the next President. I'm just saying, in a relative way, it may not be a good thing.

February 19, 2008 9:06 AM

Santi said:

Congratulations my friend, you've seen the light. Be sure to show Wisconsin what it's all about today! (If you're registered to vote there, that is)

February 19, 2008 9:31 AM

Dangerous Mind said:

Thank you for putting into words what I've been thinking for the past few weeks. Obama makes me - the ultimate pessimist - believe that a better future is possible.

And honestly - how scary is the prospect of having 24 straight years of the same two families in the White House? From where I'm sitting, that seems like the sort of tyranny of the ruling class that the Founding Fathers sought to avoid...

February 19, 2008 12:02 PM

Anonymous said:

Ah, just a few scant months ago you had no faith in a man with such little experience and would not vote for him. What wonders are worked when you get to meet somebody so charismatic "in person".

February 19, 2008 12:04 PM

Ismael Tapia II said:

Who?
Relative to who, exactly? Who do you think would be a better president, and why?

Santi,
It's not hard to prefer Mr. Obama to Ms. Clinton, who quickly lost any appeal she might have had. She's a filthy politician. She's constantly changed her stance in order to be more electable. She ran in New York rather than her home state, and she moved there specifically to run. She's as personable as an angry badger. And she's proved in the past few weeks that she's petty, hypocritical, and completely shameless. I'd be ashamed to haver her as my president. I'd be proud to have Mr. Obama represent me on the world scene.

Dangerous Mind,
You're welcome. It's definitely a strange feeling to support a candidate rather than merely hate one less.

Anonymous,
The man doesn't have a lot of experience, that's definitely true. And I still think that Mr. Obama should pick someone like Bill Richardson as his running mate. But, actually, Mr. Obama addressed the whole experience thing in his speech. He talked about how people told him that he was too young or that he should wait. And his response was that he wasn't running because he wanted power but rather because he sees a broken system and thinks he can help fix it. That resonated with me.

And besides, it's not like the president talks with diplomats and legislators on his own--the president has massive amounts of support. So if it comes down to experience or genuineness, I have to go with genuineness.

February 21, 2008 11:53 PM

kristin said:

I know this is way late, but I just noticed that you compared Hillary Clinton to an angry badger. I think that does an enormous disservice to the badger and I really feel you should take it back.

March 1, 2008 11:52 AM

Bette said:

Ppl like you get all the brains. I just get to say tnhaks for he answer.

November 23, 2011 6:08 AM

uihdfykmpch said:

kwwDB8 dfgfakntamde

November 24, 2011 5:27 AM

atiqpchpbis said:

JSyBBM yhrzzvxbpgpt

November 30, 2011 10:57 AM

Leave a comment

Name

Email Address

URL

Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.