Obama

I watched Obama accept the Democratic Party nomination for president on Thursday night at a bar in the chic neighborhood of Palermo Viejo. To my surprise, the bar was packed with over 100 other U.S. expats all there to watch Barack as his lifesize figure was projected onto the bar's wall via internet.

As many of you know, politics has consumed much of my life for the past 5 or so years. Upon paying close attention to the first 4 years of the Bush presidency, I felt obligated to get involved. So, while in grad school, I found(with difficulty) my way for the first time to a college Democrats meeting. I'd never thought of myself as a staunch Democrat and didn't like the two party system (I still don't), but I felt like I had to jump on the rightward swinging pendulum to bring it back to the center. Two years later, I was running phonebanks for John Kerry's unsuccessful presidential bid. Two years after that, I co-directed a campaign for a candidate for Ohio Representative in the Columbus area. In between these years, I traveled throughout the country campaigning for Democratic candidates and served in a number of offices for various progressive groups.

The summer after my last campaign, I moved to Argentina to get away from it all and improve my Spanish. During that summer, I met people from all over the world. It was an opportunity to take a giant step back from U.S. politics and the ugly partisan rivalry in which I'd been embroiled for so long. The experience was liberating. I finally felt as though I could think about politics outside of the partisan box, that I could talk to people with different opinions without shouting.

Before, I had felt that critical thinking was a luxury. Reasoning with Republicans had never worked. In my discussions, I would concede too much and they would take my concessions but never make concessions themselves. Because they would never compromise, I then felt that I could not compromise, especially in a time when our government had so little balance in the sense that every major branch of government was controlled by Republicans. And so, for nearly 4 years, I was a mouthpiece of the Democratic party, a pure counterweight, conceding nothing, as unthinking as the Republicans on the other side. I felt that it was necessary, but I hated it. I wanted to be able to think again. I wanted to be able to have honest discussions with people, to reason, to compromise. It is not in my nature nor do I think it is intelligent to be a pure partisan or to utilize talking points at the expense of critical thinking and compromise.

Thank God in 2006 some balance was restored to our government. In Ohio especially, state offices were swept by the Democrats (though I almost wish Marc Dann hadn't won). The U.S. House and Senate as well swung left and were suddenly in Democratic control after years of hardcore Republican majorities which completely and utterly ignored the Democrats and went full speed ahead with an agenda that was far right of the country. The new balance was like a gift to me. I suddenly felt as if I was no longer obligated to be involved in politics, at least for the moment. No more knocking on random doors or calling random houses of people who mostly didn't want to talk with me. No more constant blog checks hoping for good news or developments or encouragment. I was free to go back to doing what I wanted, which was reading, writing, improving my Spanish, and traveling.

I had never wanted to get involved in politics, nor did I feel like I was well suited for it. I would have much rather left it to others. Now finally, there seemed to be a solid cadre of Democratic volunteers as well as activists and some money. I was no longer needed. And it was bliss.

My summer in Argentina allowed me to come back not as a Democrat but more as a citizen of the world. I no longer felt the strong emotions for politics and political discussions that I felt in the past. So, when approached with a political discussion, my heart no longer raced and the words no longer spit from my mouth. I was still interested, but I could enter into discussion without raising my voice or becoming overly emotional. I continued to maintain my progressive views, but I could state them in a way that didn't make the people with whom I was having a discussion automatically defensive.

When the presidential primaries rolled around, I still had no intention of volunteering. However, I was intrigued by this guy Barack Obama. I liked him because he seemed deeply intelligent and because he was refreshingly apartisan. On the Sunday talk shows, he answered questions thoughtfully instead of shouting back the tired Democratic talking points or attacks. He seemed more a professor than a career politician. He seemed determine to maintain his independence, despite the party to which he subscribed. He teamed with Republicans in the Senate and sought compromises instead of outright victories. In short, he seemed like a guy who could bring the country together, who could help us all quit our bickering and focus on common goals. And did I mention he was a pretty good speaker:) Which after years of W was more than refreshing.

Here was a guy I could support without having to revert to my blood boiling old partisan self. Here was a guy who would represent my desire for compromise, harmony, and a desire to truly solve problems instead of fight over them. In conversations with Republicans, he was disarmingly pensive and reasonable. And though he was young, he seemed to have a strong grasp of almost every major issue of the day.

I've never been crazy or starry eyed about any particular politician and I don't currently feel that way about Barack. However, watching his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention was like being in a dream. That is, I don't know if my mind could do a better job of creating or inventing a candidate who so precisely respresents my values, way of seeing the world, and hopes for the future.

To watch and listen to his speech and not be moved by its intelligence, humanity, reasoned approach, and humble intensity could only suggest such a strong bias against him that one could never be open to his message. It was by far the best live speech I've ever heard and for the first time in a long time made me feel guilty for being in Argentina and not in the all important battle ground swing state OHIO.

When the speech ended, I felt a sense of urgency that this guy must be our next president, that it would be a tradgedy if he were not. Who else will bring the country together to help us solve the health care crisis, get the troops safely out of Iraq, fix the education system, fix social security, jumpstart the economy, solve the energy crisis. It won't be the other guy who is obsessed with being in Iraq for the next 100 years or who is intent on bullying Russia and reigniting the coldwar. Despite McCain's solid record on the environment (I respect him for that), the guy is obsessed with being a hard A#$ throughout the world. After travelling throughout the world for the past few years, I can attest that is the LAST thing we need. The image of the U.S. in the world has been severely tarnished by Bush. The world wants Obama. To them, he means freedom. The idea that a black guy with a diverse background and experience who is extremely intelligent can become president would reaffirm the world's belief in a country that has recently resorted to using torture and whose president created an Axis of Evil and said, 'You're with us or against us'.

It will be bad news if McCain wins and overextends our already overextended military, further upsets the world (creating more terrorists), wastes soldiers' lives, and spends all of our tax dollars as he overcompensates for his rapidly declining testosterone level. Don't get me wrong, his story of being a POW is amazing. 5.5 years in a Vietnamese POW camp and he wouldn't accept an early release so that he could stay with his men. The guy is a superman in my book. But superman or not, 5.5 years in a prisoner of war camp does something to you. His temper and his aggressive military stances scare me. In short, I do not want his finger on the button...

I don't know beyond voting how much I will be involved down here in the presidential election. In fact, I'm not sure there's too much I can do other than to vote and to express my views in this and other blogs. In any case, I felt compelled after hearing Barack's speech to state unequivocally that I want Barack Obama as our next president. I no longer feel ambivalent about this election. Barack as president would make me proud again to be from the states.