It’s been a truly remarkable thing to watch the progress of this man Barack Hussein Obama over the past year. There is something truly remarkable about him…..magical. I remember being touched by the speech that he gave at the Democratic Convention in 2004…and how the people ought not be divided up into “Blue States”(Democratic Party) and “Red States”(Republican Party). I appreciated the idealism….but at that time….it seemed so far removed from the political realities on the ground. But in the fullness of time……it has become more and more clear how the Neo-Cons and extreme…whacko conservatives have pushed things to such an extreme….it of course is predictable enough that the younger generations would react to that and rebel against it…but few generations get an opportunity to do something positive with all that frustration that they have with their system.
In the previous few hours Barack Obama has won important contests in Nebraska, Washington State, Louisiana, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With these wins….he unquestionably becomes the front runner in terms of elected delegates in the nomination process for the Democratic Party. He also reduces the distance between himself and Hillary Clinton in terms of the so called “Superdelegates”. If he maintains this momentum….then….he may be on his way to landslide victories in the remaining states. As a kid I remember hearing about the civil rights movement, women’s movement, etc….I never really had the opportunity to see my generation really get passionate about politics. How sweet it is. I guess in a sense I should thank the nutcases of the conservative fringe in the U.S…..because they took things so far one way…it stands to reason that there would sooner or later be a big reaction to it. He calls upon the highest ideals in American Tradition. He calls upon them…and clearly will take the U.S. in a completely different direction. A direction which will embrace diversity, creativity, and in the best pluralistic traditions….will accomodate people of different beliefs…or non-beliefs. I’ve never seen a politician so boldly call for respecting everyone regardless of religion….or doubt…..gay or straight, black or white, male or female. He’s boldly taking the aspirations of idealistic liberality and charging off…not trying to merely recapture previous victories…..but daring to go completely against the establishment…by fundamentally tapping into the open mindedness and generosity of spirit available from them(This new generation)…when they feel that everyone is being considered….and not only some special groups worthy of political correctness. His health care plans show the striking contrast with the old typical american liberalism. Hillary Clinton’s Universal Health Care programme will force everyone to pay for health care….and if they don’t…they’ll be fined or have their wages garnished. Obama will reduce the prices and provide for those unable to afford it the incentives and assistance needed to achieve the goals of Universal Healthcare…putting the owness on government and insurance to find a way to do it….rather than depending on the people to pay for it. You see….it’s politically savvy enough to recognize that mandates on getting healthcare will not help them get any closer to achieving it….it may only provide something to fight over. Just this past day I heard about a guy working and living in Massachussetts…who doesn’t have the money to pay for their state run and enforced medical system. He’s being fined for not buying it….and…he still doesn’t have healthcare. Next year the fine will increase…..and he still won’t have enough money to afford healthcare.
+ Robyn Graves +
