Dancehunter Meets Obama, sort of

OK, so I had some fellow Obamicans with me, say about 19,999 of them. What's important is that I was there to see our next president. So, did I feel the warmth, glow, and buzz? Not really. The guy was tired, exhausted as he should be for a candidate on a non-stop stump speech circuit. There was a warmth, glow, and a buzz alright, but it was radiating from the people, not the man.

He speech was pretty basic, the usual stuff, covering lots of ground, saying all the things we want to hear about another world, better than the one we got now, which for the most part has been shredded by George Bush and his cohorts. Here's the thing, candidates have to promise us the world, you know, the better one. That's his job.

Our job as voters is different. We do our homework, looking up issues that are important to us, evaluate the experience and track record of each contender, and then make an educated choice. There's a leap of faith in every vote. Some leaps are larger than others. For myself, a life-long Democrat, the original latte drinking liberal, there's no big risk here. I am proud that we have two strong candidates that are both well-qualified for the big job. How exciting is that, to have two people duking it out. Sure thickens the plot. Texas finally matters. Yahoo!

By now, you have heard of what goes on at these Obamaramas. Often we tell each other our stories. I don't have much of one really. He's a smart guy, (I've always wanted a smart president like the guy on the West Wing), has an impressive life history, and his track record in Illinois and DC speaks for itself. It's well researched in this Daily Kos piece. The Obama choice was a no-brainer for me. The stories that really interest me are coming from republicans—people leaving the safe haven of their ideologies to take a chance on the new guy. Now these are amazing stories, a kind of waking up from the George Bush stupor that's downright soul wrenching. Read Frank Rich's take on the two campaigns.

The Obama wave is as much about the lifting of despair as it is about hope. And as for change, it's the people that are doing the changing, and well, that's breathtaking.