On Tuesday I voted in Hawaii's caucus. I went with three of my "hippie mom" friends (what Mohamed calls them). We made t-shirts
and the other moms brought their children since all their husbands are currently deployed. We stood in line for two hours, with kids tired and cranky, to cast our vote. I think it is clear who I voted for.But Obama's statement made me wonder, how is he really so different? What if his good ideas go to die in Washington? What if he becomes corrupted by power? What if he already is, and he's just fooling me (and a lot of the rest of the country)? Can I really have any clue who I am voting for?
My uncertainty is compounded by each passing minute of the debate. Hillary is making some excellent points, and Obama's answers seem REALLY repetitive. Have I judged Hillary too quickly? Perhaps she is the better choice? What about when all the hype fades away, will Obama be true to his word?
Four years ago I made the wrong choice when I voted for our president. I take seriously my responsibility to vote for the right person this time.
ps- if you are wondering what "crunchy" means (from the t-shirts we made) it basically means "natural." Think hippy, but without the drugs and promiscuity. Want to know how crunchy you are? Go here:
http://www.themoralesfamily.us/granola.htm
I scored 117
2 comments:
I recently read "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama and I really enjoyed it. In the book he fleshes out a lot of his thoughts concerning our country like health care, the War in Iraq, religion, the economy, etc. I think you'd really like it, Jame.
If Obama does indeed assume the presidency, will he succumb to Washington lobbyists and bureaucracy? It certainly is a possibility. Yet he could also turn out to be the catalyst for change we need in Washington. (As long as he's able to rally the Republican Congress to his ideas.) Thus it is kind of a gamble whenever we cast our vote for a candidate. Will he (or she) really follow through on his promises? I don't know, but I think Obama will give it his hardest.
Earlier this week I read an article about Samantha Power who is an advisor to Obama. Power is a professor at Harvard and the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a book about the American duty to stop genocide. Her book is amazing (and even life-altering for Justin) and I have a lot of respect for her.
Obama read Power's book and asked her if she would be willing to discuss foreign policy with him. When their meeting was over, Power was so impressed with Obama that she decided to take leave from her job and work for him. He was the first politician to contact her about her ideas concerning genocide.
Anyway, this article demonstrated to me that Obama (at least for now) isn't entirely taken in by the Washington "disease." His ideas are still fresh and he isn't afraid to take an alternate approach to politics. I'm not saying that you need to keep supporting Obama because Clinton is a good candidate too. We can still be friends if you join the Hillary wagon. :o)
(Obama doesn't fare as well in debates as Clinton does. He even makes fun of his debate style in his book!)
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