Choices, Choices...

I haven’t decided who I am voting for in November.

I have decided who I am NOT voting for: John McCain (though I do like the guy) and Christine Gregoire (mostly because her last name is so hard to spell).

This Obama character is damned engaging. I heard an interesting observation on NPR about Obama the other day. Something to the effect of “He’s the first politician in a long time to actually talk to the American public like they are adults.”

That struck a chord with me.

I remember seeing a speech by a then unknown Jr. Senator Obama at the 2004 Democratic National convention. Obama was introducing former President Bill Clinton, my personal political hero…and Obama overshadowed Mr. Charisma himself. My eyebrow raised and I took note of this kid from Illinois.

It’s been a very long four years since that convention and the world has become an awfully scary place. I think we are all going to feel the effects of “BUSHwacked” foreign policy for many years to come. The one thing I’ll commend Bush for, is that he openly acknowledges his actions in the Middle East, which is much more than I can say for every President before him. At least Americans are now aware of why the rest of the world hates us so very much.

But back to Obama, it’s easy to get distracted from looking to the future when dealing with our present. But this Obama kid says that he’s the future. I’m not sure what it is about these kids from Chicago, Kanye West calls himself the future as well, wonder if the two hang at the same coffee shop or something.

But I think the two represent parallels to each other.

Granted, one is a politician and one is a hip-hop artist. But both men represent people who made their own way in careers that are very regimented and not prone to change. They saw the archetype for success in their industries and not only ignored it, they changed it.

West refused to conform to the standard-issue rapper persona that the industry demanded for success. He did his own thing, created his own sound and ended-up winning a Grammy.

Obama is very much the same. First off, he’s black. I am not sure how many of you watch C-Span, but most politicians aren’t black. Yet Obama managed to make his own way in politics.

Not only is he black, but he’s young. And in the glad-handing, you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours, institution of American politics that is strike number two. Obama isn’t the golden boy he’s been made-out to be as he’s seen his share of defeat. But he’s managed to learn from mis-steps and has progressively moved toward the goals he’s set for himself.

Even if I don’t vote for the guy, I do respect his tenacity and intelligence. Obama is bringing the same confidence and intelligence that made West a hip-hop star to politics. He’s making politics interesting and intellectual again. As a political junkie, I love him for that. I could never write this much about John Kerry and I voted for that fool.

If Obama is as smart as I think he is, he probably doesn’t want to win this election.

The state of our great nation is not so hot right now. And if Bush is a lame duck, whoever wins in November is going to be a scape-goat for the quagmire that will be the legacy of the Bush Administration.

This is where I begin to have my doubts about Obama. He is a great speaker and a man with great ideas. But I wonder how much fluff can actually become reality.

America is ripe for a change and this may just be the time for a paradigm shift. I realize that I am now knocking Obama for the very thing I have been praising him for…being different.

Should I vote for the status quo (Bill, I mean, Hilary Clinton) because they can actually do something at a snails pace? Or do I roll the dice and hope that Obama can deliver on half of what he’s promised?

I must say that I was extremely impressed by Obama’s recent speech on race. His willingness to finally discuss the ‘elephant in the room’ of race exhibited a fearlessness and boldness that has been lacking from American politics for a long-time. His speech was not only eloquent but fair.

He, of all candidates represents hope for change.

I guess the question I need to answer is, Am I ready for that change?

Perhaps that’s a question we should all be asking ourselves.