Three steps forward, two steps back...

I decided this country had turned an important corner when I was unhappy with our Secretary of State for being participating this administration's misuse of prewar intelligence. And not a moment's consideration of the history-making facts that she is simultaneously the second woman, the second African person and the first African-American woman ever to hold that position.

(Madeleine Albright --> Colin Powell --> Condolezza Rice; general Powell was the first African-American SoS...)

If Barack is elected, and his leadership is up to the promise, then we really will have accomplished something significant. The presidency is The Big Cahuna, and electing Mr. Obama would be a good message.

Reality however is more than message, and we have some real work ahead us no matter who works in the front office.

Ack - forgot the drivel-quote:

"But we are a country that is defined by neither race nor religion."

Qualified. Brilliant. A fabulous image to project to the world. A fabulous triumph of decades of liberal effort making the election of an African-American not only possible, but to make it happen.

Agreed on all of the above.

Also a centrist--by choice--as a presidential candidate and one who has fattened his campaign warchest with millions from corporate interests like the health insurance industry which virtually guarantees that despite all the inspiring possibilities the potential has already been squelched, the possibilities truncated in advance and the results of his Presidency, if elected, almost certain to be very few indeed. Is it worth all of us gushing away in a self congratulatory orgy of good feeling over having a black President when outside of the symbolic value the potential for substantive change is close to zero? I think not.

Obama's decision to oppose the war as a state Senator showed great judgement. Obama's decision to posture himself as a corporate, centrist Democrat showed judgement more oriented toward winning than bringing change. His acceptance of all those millions in corporate cash means he is now a creature of Washington no matter how much he claims he hasn't been around long enough to be tainted. The proof that this is not true is right in front of us all. You cannot serve two masters: one with all the money and power that prevents change and the other being the people who desperately want and need change to reclaim their country and their future. Obama will try and serve the people, but his decision to have it both ways makes certain that his ability to bring change is severely limited in advance because he now owes a great deal to those who not only won't compromise but who will do everything in their power to prevent any meaningful change in healthcare, education, tax policy, the drug industry, the list is really endless and could go on and on.

Yes, Obama's presence on the national political scene brings hope, but it is unlikely it will bring the change we all hope for.

JFK made me feel good, not because I felt he was going to go around the world kicking ass, but because I felt he was going to go around the world helping the downtrodden.

The only thing Obama does for me is make me believe that Democrats will once again nominate the wrong person for the wrong reasons. But at least the speeches will be really good. He'll suck up to Republicans, stand tall with homophobes, push right wing frames and empty, meaningless nonpartisanship, but at least a buncha people will feel good about it. Bleh.

Two points.

First, on the idea that America is not defined by race or religion.

I totally agree. But we have to recognize that a significant portion of our fellow citizens do not agree.

Bill O'Reilly talking with Saint John McCain:

But do you understand what the New York Times wants, and the far-left want? They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure, which you're a part, and so am I, and they want to bring in millions of foreign nationals to basically break down the structure that we have.

Second, on the Kennedy quote.

Lincoln referred to the United States, or more specifically "the Union," as the last, best hope of earth.

Kennedy used the "last best hope" phrase in reference to the United Nations in his inaugural address.

I"m trying to believe in Obama. But so far, I'm sorry guys, I just can't see it. He strikes me as just another politician, and one that I'm not sure has the stomach for the fight I think the next president will need to bring about things like universal health care and a square deal for the middle class. And I don't get the difference between his new brand of (supposedly) non-confrontational politics and the triangulation of the past that he disdains.

So, whether or not you believe in a landmass is contingent upon whether or not your 'faith' is
catered to by a bureaucrat?
What a load of tripe and drivel.
'America' is in fact that, a landmass. It
stretches from the North Pole, where there is
no Santa Claus, to the South Pole, where there
are, we're told, penguins and drunken researchers
and a shanty left over from the time of Ernest
Shackleton. The North Pole is also the fabled
home of AlBore's famous drowning polar bears.
Don't drink and swim, there, Mr. Bear. And, wait
and hour after eating.
I haven't read all that much about JFK, I know
he was in office at the time of the Cuban missile
crisis, I know he once dated Marylin Monroe, who
later turned up dead from an 'overdose' or
something, and he died from a magic bullet or
something. Usually, those get reserved for
vampires, or more likely in his case, religious
heretics that don't kiss the papal ring, but
that's a case for another conspiracy story.
Anyway, back to our landmass: Turning to our
handy map, always useful at the writing table,
we discover that not only is America broken up
into two distinct areas, North America and
South America, but that it is further subdivided
into sections called 'countries', and from there
broken down into states, counties, voting districts, down to the individual tax lots,
ultimately separating you from your hard-earned
cash. Something like that. Anywho, these 'nation'
things tend to go on and on and on, ours has been
around roughly in its' current form since about
oh, 1860 or so, with a few final touches here
and there to round out the 50 states as we know
and love(?) them today. Since its' inception
back in the 1700's, this country has undergone
several changes of management, some of them
better at the overall job of keeping the country
glued together than others, each management 'team' facing the unique challenges
of their time, be it chasing the redcoats back
to britain, the japanese back across the pacific,
the russians out of the carribean, or Osama Bin
Laden wherever it is that he got off to.
I believe that, despite our current challenges
such as they might be, the country will lumber
forward, firmly anchored to the continent to
which it seems to be attached, dutifully following the other well-developed landmasses
through yet another thrilling rotation and
subsequent orbit around the sun, and next year,
it'll all happen all over again, up until the
Mystery Meteor of 2029 puts a quick halt to
THAT action. People will be born, people will
live, people will pay taxes, people will hate
the management, and ultimately people will
die, at which point they'll be taxed a-GAIN,
then someone else comes along and fills in
the hole and much later, high school kids
come along and either steal or deface the
gravestone, or both, depending on how bored
they are. And, thus, yet another generation
will make its' mark upon the earth, not only
in 'America'(see details above), but throughout
the world, just like they've been doing for the
last 20-30K years or so, just minus the Tivo.

Now, as far as presidential candidates, or more
accurately, Pandidates go, choose your poison
there, myself I like Ron Paul, because even
though he more or less proclaims himself a
True Believer, I think he's smart enough to
pretty much 'track' everything I've said and
not denounce me as a witch or a crackhead.