Barack for Hope and Change

It has been a long election season to say the least. Didn't McCain start campaigning during the Johnson Administration? And Barack was in 4th or was it 5th grade right? Or so it seems. Man, I hope they do something about this for the next election or I am moving to Canada. ;-) OK so I am not moving but this is really ridiculous and I think we all know that.

So now the election is days away and our neighborhood is all a twitter. I have friends that are losing sleep for fear that Barack Obama will not win the Presidency. We are in the most liberal part of Oregon and Portland for that matter. I would be nervous if I had a McCain sign in my yard. As a matter of fact, the other day we were on the play ground and Coulter felt compelled to tell me he was voting for John McCain. I immediately bent down and said, "Ahh, you may want to keep that to yourself around here." And then we had a little talk about why he was voting for McCain. After our talk he switched his vote to Obama. To his credit, he's only 4 and he knows who both candidates are. I'm impressed with that. We have had lots of conversations in our house about what the two major parties represent and what they "say" they are going to do. Our kids have been very interested in this process. If they only knew what it meant to their future they might be equally scared. Because of that I am taking this vote very seriously ESPECIALLY because I am the only voting member of my family BOB! For those of you who don't know, Bob is an alien. He wears thick make up to cover the green.

I have thought long and hard about who I am going to vote for and have decided to vote for Barack Obama. The world is changing and McCain, while a hero and experienced, is stuck in a 70's mentality about world politics. I think we are all aware of the dangers of Al-Quaida and the delicate situation in the middle east. The fact that Barack will talk to people gives me hope. Who cares if it gives some yahoo in the middle east "street cred" to talk to a world leader. I think if the guy has bombs and nothing to loose we may need to chat a bit. There needs to be greater equality in this world so that no one and no country is so desperate that they have nothing to loose. That needs to start here at home. Those of us who "have" need to be taxed. If we don't get our health care situation in order we are screwed. Every major industrialized nation in the world has national health care, every one but us. We can send troops around the world but we can't take care of the little old lady down the street who has to eat dog food and then has to decide between heat and her medication. She has to choose! Come on. That is not the America that I grew up in and I certainly don't want it to be where my kids grow up. We need to take care of each other. The lady next door, down the street, across town and across the globe. It only makes sense. Barack has a new view and less baggage and maybe he can start a dialogue with other nations where we don't seem like the giant democracy pushing US values slinging monster. A conversation, if you will, and those go both ways. What happened to give and take? We need to get our energy consumption under control so we don't have to count on OPEC. We need to make AIDS medication affordable for parents in Africa and the couple down the street. Talk about nothing to loose. We need to invest in 3rd world countries so their economies grow and they can join in the world economy. We need to redirect our money and energy from consequences and jails toward education and prevention. We need to have honest politicians who protect the interests of their constituents rather then line their own pockets. We need there to be accountability for those bastards on Wall Street that just STOLE our money by creating a total financial disaster. They knew all along that collapse was just around the corner and if they didn't know they are morons.

So I lay all that out knowing that the task is too big for one man. Even if that man is Barack Obama. But there are so many of us out here who believe that he will make the changes we need. He has to. We can't continue on the track that we are on or it will lead to total disaster and collapse. I hope we can change, I hope we can reclaim our place in the world's view, I hope we can take care of our own, I hope we can calm the fears of other countries, I hope we can create health care for all, I hope our children receive the education they deserve, I hope we can feel secure in all ways in our later years and I hope our children will inherit a better country and world. For all these things I HOPE that Barack Obama will be the change that our country and world deserve.

So now, after getting all that out, I may loose some sleep too. This is too important to loose. No matter what you do, please vote. This election is at such a pivotal point in time and we have the power to change the course of history. May the best man win and I think (pray) most of us know that is Barack Obama.