Barak

What do we really know about any of the candidates we vote for?  It's not like we can get a feel for them from advertisements, their well manicured appearence, or their oratory prowess.  How should I discern who my 'representative' should be?  One of the reps for my state was sending lewd emails and now claims that he was abused by a Catholic priest.  Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.... now as to what is truth and fiction, I'll leave to another blog post.

That being said, there is a presence that we can testify to when we see someone.... we can tell some things - presence, character, inspiration, all the things that make people divine in their best states of conciousness.

Take for example, Barak Obama.  Now, I know that people are sick to death of beating this dead horse, but why don't we have a guy like THAT for president?  He's apparently made incredible inroads in the senate, learned more about international policy than any other senator, and most importantly to me, he's inspirational.  He is a person that I could get behind because he exudes a goodness that is rare in the political arena.  In other words, the guy really seems like the genuine article.  That is so rare.  Even as I watched the Clinton/Gore ticket in the 90's, I thought..... wow, these guys have some stuff up their sleeves, but they hide it well.

Inspiration is a highly underrated quality in our culture.  We look for it in our movie stars and artists, but we don't look for it in the realm of politics. 

Watching the 2004 Democratic convention, I remember wishing that THIS was our guy.  His speech was hard hitting, his mannerisms rivaled the best Sunday preacher.  I thought, "Hey man, I'm on the choir, let's get some shit done! Amen! Hare Krishna!  Whatever, just get elected!"  I think even Kerry wished it at the time.  It was a damned good speech.

The buzz on the internet is that Barak is seriously thinking about it.  My suggestion is for everyone to start thinking about what the next election could look like:  Clinton, Barak, McCain, Guilliani..... Those are some tough contenders.