Barack O Baby!

Something Truly Profound happened Saturday morning while Barack Obama was telling the world that he’s joining the race for president.

Sitting on the couch in my pajamas with two warm dogs cuddled up around me, I experienced a small miracle.

For the first time in nearly 30 years of listening to political speeches, I actually believed what I was hearing.

It gave me chills. It made me cry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Have you seen The American President? It’s Michael Douglas (the president) and Annette Bening (an environmental lobbyist) in a funny little love story wrapped around an intriguing peek at West Wing politics.

Here’s part of a speech that Douglas’ character gives near the end of the movie:

America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free".

It was inspirational and pathetic all at once.

The first time I heard it, I thought, “Why can’t we find a president like that? One who won’t pull punches? Someone who is more of a passionate public servant rather than an oily politician?”

I know it’s a movie. But why not?

I’m telling you Obama is that kind of candidate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You haven’t been inspired listening to a candidate, Hedy? Maybe you haven’t been listening to the right candidates.

Trust me, I’ve been listening.

And what I hear always sounds the same – like that droning wa-WA-wa-WA-wa of the teacher from the Peanuts cartoons.

We’ve endured too many years of too many politicians who were too much about the power and ego and not so much about the service and sacrifice.

• Bill Clinton using his office to prey on chubby interns – parsing words and making it painfully necessary for parents to explain oral sex to their young children – while Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban took over Afghanistan and plotted 9/11.
• George Bush taking his weak-ass second term ‘mandate’ out for a spin in a war that we can’t win and killing off more U.S. citizens than the 9/11 terrorists.
• And let’s not forget that shrew Hillary Clinton saying she’s ‘In It to Win’ rather than in it to make a difference.

I want a leader I can believe in, dammit. Don’t you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What was so different about Obama’s speech?

He was genuine and refreshingly candid. He didn’t have that shrill, salesy air of schlock and desperation that clings to most Major Candidates like dog shit on a shoe.

I believed Obama when he said that his campaign couldn’t be just about him, but about all of us working together for change. Working together to make a difference.

I believed him when he said we have an opportunity to undo the damage that’s been done to our country’s reputation in the global community.

I believed him when he said that beneath all the differences of race and region, faith and station, we are one people.

His message was positive, heartfelt, and practical.

Almost like something out of a movie, but unbelievably . . . believable.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This week we’re introducing an exciting new HedyBlog Feature: It’s C U Next Tuesday!

Ta-da! Clapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclapclap!

Every Tuesday, HedyBlog will provide quotes, commentary and hypocrisy from that whacky, tyrannical twat, Hillary Clinton.

Here goes.

"If I had been president in October of 2002, I would not have started this war."

She said that last Friday.

Hmm.

Do a Google search on “hillary vote on iraq war” and you’ll get this curious little Hillary quote from CNN in April of 2004:

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she is not sorry she voted for a resolution authorizing President Bush to take military action in Iraq despite the recent problems there but she does regret "the way the president used the authority."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I guess it’s one thing to say someone is inspirational.

It’s another thing to act on it.

So I signed up to volunteer at www.barackobama.com.

I also created a profile, joined two local grassroots groups, and registered to attend my first meeting.

This is interesting, from David Plouffe the Obama Campaign Director:

“Here's an astonishing fact, unmatched by any presidential campaign in history: in the first 48 hours, supporters founded over 1,500 unique local and national grassroots groups in support of Barack's campaign.”

Cool, eh?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I think he’s like Kennedy,” I said to Mom on yesterday’s drive to the station. “You should hear him. He’s someone we can believe in.”

“I listened to every one of Kennedy’s speeches,” she replied. “Everyone wanted to hear what he had to say. Now, if Bush is on, I change the channel.”

This, from a pro-life, Midwestern Christian conservative.

Talk about the audacity of hope.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am listening to: U2 – If God Will Send His Angels
I am reading: Columbia University case study
And I am: Hopeful