Posted on by Dan (Fitness)

I watched the debates tonight. Then sat in stunned silence for hours as it sank in. The Democratic debates were instructive and moving. Edwards reminded me why I liked him so much. We do need a President who feels down to his very soul the necessity of fighting back, and who has proven himself in battle. Hillary has been on the other side all too often, grinning her “Jack Nicholson as the Joker” grin while sticking a shiv in our backs (she calls this experience). Edwards is that man, and I still stand beside him as my favorite candidate for President.

But now I am standing firmly in Obama’s camp as well, and feel a great deal of confidence in Barack’s ability to lead this country. He went from “at least he’s not Hillary” to “I can actually support him” in just a few moments. I’d like to share those essential realizations with you.

The Power of Words. Inspiration. In that word is everything Obama is and Hillary is not. It is everything I aspired to when I taught, and what moves me to care and act and speak out. Words do matter, and while Hillary tried to cast them aside, Obama brought them back to the table with an appropriate rhetorical deftness. You see, words matter because they inspire and unite us. Words move “we the people” to action, and it is that action that changes history and brings about change. Change isn’t just something you legislate or negotiate. Change is something you incite, something you invite and push and explode and challenge. And Barack Obama understands this with a fullness not seen in many public figures inside or out of what we label politics.

And people know this. When we see the candidates, Democrats and Republicans, under the spotlight. When we hear their words and see their actions, those of us who think and feel with our own minds and hearts are drawn towards Obama’s authenticity. Not merely because it is authentic, as some Republicans have dismissively surmised, but because that authenticity promises a shift in political power. From the elites to all. Really the only people left are those Republicans who are casting votes of theocratic lust and faith for Huckabee, those casting their lot with the Elephant who can sound the most like Bush without sounding too much like the guy who got us into Iraq and mishandled Katrina. The only people left are those of sympathetic hearts and minds voting for John Edwards, and those who are casting votes of fear disguised as pragmatism, votes for Hillary Clinton.

And when it comes down to it, the point isn’t that Clinton and the Rest have so much to lose in the face of such hope. The point is that Obama has so much to gain. Because as the excitement of real change begins to sweep this country, the unwittingly cynical marketing pushed by Ron Paul supporters, the idea of a revolution, starts becoming more of a reality. You see the biggest issue facing our country is our representation in government. And the only way to start to do that is to involve more people in politics. Part of that means tackling the owners and their lobbyists. Part of that involves creating time for people to get informed and take action. But the very start is to invite more people to take part, and Brarack Obama can do that. He could do that as President, he could do that as Vice President. He’s doing it right now, and that is why he is winning.

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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: New Hampshire, Obama, Politics, Rhetoric, Victory |