I guess i’m obligated to talk about the politics…. Well over here in Kuwait i’ve been approached by several Arabs who are urging me to vote for Obama. So i think it that sense he would do wonders for the anti-US sentiment. However, promise only goes so far and ultimately i’m not even going to pretend to be well informed on what makes a great president. I just go by how i feel about the candidates and I dig the energy that Obama has created. He seems to be an extremely unifying character and I am beginning to embrace that.

and btw, your friends are cool. Hi Chas! Tricia! Rob!

Then Hillary and the media took up this cry about Obama’s lack of experience and they painted him that way in so many minds. If people had read his book Dreams from My Father, they would know that painting is false. Obama has lived experiences that Hillary could only imagine, and bested negatives in life through the love and encouragement of family and others but also through his amazing introspection and strength. As a young man in Chicago he became a community organizer of passion and energy who learned from the people he struggled for as much as he gave them hope. After becoming a lawyer he again served others struggling to get their rights. He topped that off with years in the Illinois legislature and now service in the U.S. Senate.

Hillary has a lot of experience, but Obama did not just visit the trenches. He lived in them. He learned amazing lessons there and still comes out with grace and a calm willingness to really talk to people about whatever the problem is. He does not show the mean pettiness that cropped up from the Clinton camp. Hey, I voted for and liked Bill, but he was dead wrong and insultingly dismissive when he attacked Obama, especially after South Carolina. That touched a well worn note in my soul about the so called “non malicious” cuts and barbs thrown on people of color which are almost daily fare in this country.

What I have tried to say is that Obama is a very experienced person when it comes to working for and with other people. He is not establishment bred so that cynicism and the desire to be right even when you’re wrong run his life. He has a great intellect but still knows how to speak to the hearts and spirits of all sorts of people. I would prefer Hillary to anyone the Republicans can put up, but I seriously wonder if her election would not be a Hillary and Bill regime that would diminish, crush even, the participation of any vice president, and many other valuable people. Unlike some black people, I do not in the least feel that Hillary Clinton is “entitled” to my vote.

SN: Hillary is lumped into the establishment because she is the epitome of it. She might have different policies than Bush, but she’s already demonstrated that the process will be the same: backroom deals, ultra secrecy, and loyalty extracted by fear of retribution.

Hillary’s record on actual health care *accomplishments* is, to be kind, less than impressive. What she’s proven during all her time in power is that she can’t get it done.

It’s also interesting that you find Hillary inspiring. I can’t imagine why, unless it’s out of some misguided female pride. Rightly or wrongly, most of the inspiring Hillary does is in uniting the opposition against her. I think most Hillary supporters don’t fully appreciate the intense animosity that so many people have towards her. I can’t imagine how many filibusters there will be if she is president, how much gridlock there will be. It will be a waste of four years that will tear the country apart even further.

I’m an independent with libertarian leanings but I voted for Obama because he has special qualities needed by a president but rarely seen in one: leadership and charisma. He truly can inspire. That’s what we need now, not more division.

If you want to see weird circular blogging, check out the posts I did on NPR (http://www.nprnewsandviews.org) which talk about teaching blogging at USC. Not nearly as fun as yours, tho.

One funny thing tho… my cousin called me the other day asking me, as a political head, to break down the pros and cons of candidates for him. I did it, including the propositions, and he said: “Thanks for the information. I’m going to go the other way on both issues. I’m cancelling your vote.” We had a good laugh at that one, and now my motto is “I cancel your vote!” done in the same cadence as “I’m crushing your head!” (Yes, Kids in the Hall still rule.)