Oh Mama - Obama!

I can't stop myself from writing a little bit about Barack today. I say Barack instead of Mr. Obama because, let's face it, we're practically family. My name is Michelle; his wife's name is Michelle. He has a daughter named Malia; I have a sister named Malia. He grew up in Hawaii; my parents lived and my sisters were born in Hawaii. He lives in Chicago; I live near Chicago. Oh yeah, and I think his brother-in-law is married to the college counselor that used to work at LT. Seriously, do I need to go on? Our similarities are almost eerie, like that JFK/Abe Lincoln stuff.

Really, I am just so excited about Barack Obama! Partially because I'm home this year, and also because of its historical significance, I am following the election much more closely than any other. In fact, the election alone is the reason I wish we had cable tv. I have not been able to watch any of the debates. Do you think I could go to a bar and watch them? Are there "smart bars" where people go to watch C-span instead of ESPN? I wonder...

I am currently reading Barack's first book, Dreams from My Father and am enjoying it immensely. I love that he uses big words - and correctly. He really is such an interesting person and it's so neat to be reading this book all the while thinking, This man could be our president soon. When he does win the election, I will love that I feel like I know a lot about the man in the oval office.

While he is definitely drawing a lot of peoples' attention and really gaining momentum in this election, I know there are a good amount of people who are wary of him for various reasons. Because this is my blog and I can say what I want on it, I'm going to take some time to give my opinion on some of the Obama complaints. Don't worry, there aren't too many. Here goes:

1. He doesn't have enough experience - life or political.

There's a line in a book we read in one of my classes that says something along the lines of, "She's a lot older than her drivers licence indicates." We talk about what this line means and how age really doesn't equal life experience. Often, my low level students have more life experience than I do, even though they're 10+ years younger. But they have had to grow up quickly because of the home lives they have. This is not to say that growing up with tragedy is the only way to gain life experience. Barack Obama does have some tragedy in his past, but who doesn't? But not many of us have dealt with being of mixed race and facing discrimination, living in Hawaii, living in Indonesia with our mother and step father, traveling to Kenya to meet many brothers/sisters/aunts/uncles, living in both New York and Chicago (at different times), working as an organizer in Chicago, going to Harvard, being in the state and US senate, etc., etc., etc. Now, that's life experience.

But what about political experience, you say? Well, before becoming a US Senator in 2004, he was a state senator for Illinois from 1996-2004. George Bush's only elected position, before running for president, was that of the governor of Texas, a post he held for 5 years. Now, being a state governor is certainly different than being a state senator, I don't dispute that. But I'll relay what a friend of mine was saying about Obama's "lack of experience." Basically, my friend argues that Obama's short tenure as a politician is one reason to vote for him since he has not had all the time spent in DC, making all kinds of deals and fraternizing with all kinds of lobbyists. Obama does not feel the pull that many other politicians may feel to vote one way or the other based on long-time relationships. I couldn't agree more. Isn't everybody always complaining about corruption in politics. Doesn't it seem right that the longer you've been in politics, the more time you have had to be corrupted?

2. He's too eloquent and can't go on charisma alone.

OK, now this is just funny. Are we so used to our current president being such a moron that we've decided that's the norm? Being able to speak well is considered a weakness? Since when is being eloquent and having charisma an insult? Obviously, the meat behind this argument is that Obama does not have policies to back up his Campaign for Change. That's just not true. Do some research. Go to his website. You'll see where he stands on the issues and his ideas for change. http://www.barackobama.com/

Well, those two items seem to be the main complaints I've seen. Just two that I can think of...not bad. As the election draws nearer, I'm sure there will be more complaints thrown out in desperation. The fact of the matter is, there's not a lot to complain about. He's a good guy. Read his first book, a memoir written before running for office. I promise you'll like it.

I realize I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, as I know a lot of my regular blog readers have pledged allegiance to Obama. I just felt the need to respond to the major items that have come up against Obama. You'll notice I did not badmouth any other candidate. All are qualified in their own way and any of them will be an improvement upon the current administration, I hope. But I truly believe with all my heart that Obama is the right choice.

And to pacify some of the non-Obamas out there, here's what you really want - pictures of the little guy, matching his daddy: