I Heart Barack Obama

A year ago I told my friends at work I thought Barack Obama would be the next president and they all thought I was crazy. Remember Hillary was the inevitable candidate and Rudy Giuliani was the favorite among GOP circles. That was back when John McCain was polling at 10% nationally among Republicans. I watched an Obama campaign speech and remember how he was so inspiring and was such a charismatic speaker. Well I watched tonight's speech and he hasn't lost his ability to inspire. Now, as most of you know, I don't agree with him much in terms of policy, but I must admit I wish I did. I love the idea of an African American president simply because it shows how far we have come in this country. It gives me chills to see him speaking as a presidential nominee just 45 years removed from Martin Luther King's famous "I have a dream" speech.

Although I disagree with his political prescriptions, I would be proud to have Barack Obama as my President. I just don't believe in calling people ridiculous names and assigning evil motives to all politicians who disagree with me. One year ago in September, I saw Bill Clinton leaving our hotel in Chicago while I was preparing to run the Chicago Half Marathon. I remember waving at him and thinking how cool it would be to tell my daughter that she once was just a few feet from President Clinton. In the end as different as our philosophies are, we are all still Americans and most importantly humans, created and loved by God our Creator. I sometimes get the feeling that many Democrats literally believe that George Bush is evil and wants to eat your children. The campaign ad from John McCain today which congratulated Obama on the nomination, is the tone I wish could be used more often in our political discourse. Oh well, I'm back to watching re-runs of the speech with tears in my eyes.