“I love my President.” Those words sounds so foreign and strange to say. But they are words that I would actually believe if Barack Obama were elected President.
What separates Obama from the Hillary Clintons and John McCains (and Sarah Palins... but really, who knows anything about her anyway?) of the world, is that he is actually lovable. His ability to say what is on his heart in an unfiltered, uncensored manner makes him a unique politician, or perhaps an ironic politician. I do not get the feeling that when Barack speaks, he is pandering to the masses, or telling people what they want to hear. However, his frank, direct, value-laden speeches are exactly what we didn’t know we need to hear: the truth.
For me, Barack’s appeal is his ability to reconcile contradictions. For example, how a multi-racial man born to a single mother can go to Harvard, become a U.S. Senator, and then run for President… and do in 15 years what most people will never dream of doing in a lifetime. Politically, he is wise to address the contradictions that we Americans are so hung up on: like gay marriage or abortions, and sadly, the war. But he is even wiser to acknowledge that these are issues we need to get over, and the real problem is that most Americans are working for sub-par pay and struggling to make ends meet. The real problem is the state of the economy that George Bush has left in the wake of his presidency.
Watching Obama, I feel inspired to be the change I want to see in this country: I want to go volunteer, work at my church, raise money for good causes. I want to forget what I think are my problems, and focus on making the world right again. I also want to feel stress-free and without fear. I do not think that Obama will necessarily make my life better, but his story sure as heck motivates me to be different, and to be better.
