Once Upon a Time

Barack Obama is the Democratic Party’s candidate for President. That isn’t good enough for him though. He wants to be America’s candidate for President. On November 4th we will see.

He has a familiar story. He comes from a broken family. He idolized his grandparents. He was devastated by his mother’s death. He left college with tens of thousands of dollars of debt. He met a girl he didn’t think he was good enough for. He kept asking her out anyway. At then end of his wedding day, he collapsed onto a bench and was content to just hold her and revel in his marital status. He drove at a snail’s pace the day he took his daughter home.

He started out as many of us, knowing the world wasn’t as it should be. The difference is he dedicated himself to changing it. In so doing, he may change us all. He knows who we are. He understands our fears and our hardships. He shares our hopes and dreams. They are his hopes and dreams.

He’s so close to making the difference his mother made him believe he could. He will not squander it. His votes will not be stolen. He will not be swift-boated into the shadows. He will fight, for his family and for ours. All he asks is that he not stand alone. None of us are better off alone. America is at her best when we lift each other up. We stand taller when we stand together.

Aaron Sorkin wrote of a President who would stand up and say, “we’ve got serious problems, and we need serious men.”

Tonight I heard a Presidential-hopeful say, “America, we cannot turn back. We cannot walk alone.”

Fact maybe stranger than fiction after all.

In a town much like the one you live, the next president of our country is a child. What kind of world do we want him/her to grow up in.

The American legacy has begun to shift. Hope has landed.

Don’t let Cheney shoot it.

My Candidate Didn’t Win

Former President Clinton did something tonight we aren’t used to seeing him do: something he didn’t want to. There have been times in this Primary Seasons where Bill went to almost racist lengths to discredit Senator Obama in the hope of launching his wife into his old seat. He trivialized his wins and questioned his qualifications to lead. But, as he made it painfully honest, as he put the final, redundant nail in the coffin; his candidate didn’t win.

When he entered the room, cameras darted back and forth between Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton. No one could be sure what this oh-so-powerful democrat would say. Michelle feared the worst as she used her clapping hands to shield her fearful face. Hillary strained to make eye contact, as if to say one more time, “my time isn’t over, unless you step out of party lines, again.”

He went on to praise her, as only a loving husband could. If you ever doubted he didn’t, re-watch her speech and pay attention to him. I lost count of the “I love you”s that he murmured as she was taking the stage for one of many hard, though grace-filled moments this week.

He spoke as a true example of a Hillary-supporter (or as a reader of a speech she wrote). He spoke of all the hardships America is currently facing, at home and abroad. He spoke of different things were when the Democrats (and him) were in charge and the many ways at which the Republicans (Bush, Cheney, other cronies) have tarnished that good American name. He made it clear that Barack Obama is the Democratic Party’s candidate, and that he will vote for him.

“Everything I learned in my eight years as president, and in the work I have done since in America and across the globe, has convinced me that Barack Obama is the man for this job.”

To many long-time Bill Clinton supporters, this could be looked at as selling out. Until he continued.

“With Joe Biden’s experience and wisdom, supporting Barack Obama’s proven understanding, instincts, and insight, America will have the national security leadership we need. And so, my fellow Democrats, I say to you: Barack Obama is ready to lead America and to restore American leadership in the world.”

Clinton describes Biden as wise and experienced. Obama is described insightful and instinctual. Biden is ready to lead, Obama could be ready. He has potential, but Bill had always said that about Barack. Now all he can say is that Obama can be the Constitution’s watch dog.

Excuse me, Former President, but I think I’m ready to defend the Constitution.

Clinton gives only one example of Obama’s readiness: picking Joe Biden.

Does someone need to remind Bill who gets that 3am call?

He closes with asking Democrats to join Hillary, Chelsea, and himself to campaign and excuses himself faster than he did during impeachment hearings. He flees the stage, unwilling to face his own party, for fear they’d see through him to the truth: he believed little of what he said in regards to Senator Obama. He did what he needed for a legacy more important than his own: Hillary’s.