Hoping for Hope

Not since 1968, has a candidate piqued the interest of so many people. Armed with a message of change from the monotony that is political discourse in this country, Barack Obama provides a much needed change from the status quo that has a stranglehold on the political stage. Incessant bickering over who is the most conservative or liberal or who has sponsored the most bills with the fewest earmarks has become the barometer by which the electorate is expected to gauge candidates for public office. When it comes to electing presidents, the debate never seems to get to the important issues of the day (war, health care, economics that impacts those that are not wealthy, etc.). It normally stops at, which candidate would I rather have a beer with? Which church does candidate A belong to? Candidate B's spouse is so insufferable that I could never vote for him/her!!

Senator Obama does what Robert F. Kennedy tried to do 40 years ago, talk about the issues that matter to people. From the current news coverage, which is devoted to following candidate's around the country without end to see what bad joke Senator McCain is making, what witty one-liner Governor Huckabee can provide us, or whether Senator Clinton teared up at a campaign event, one might forget that the United States is currently fighting a war on two fronts. Kennedy burst into the spotlight in 1968 with a message of ending the Vietnam War and focusing the attention of the American government on those in this country rather than in a country half way around the world. It was breath of fresh air in 1968, like what Senator Obama is providing today with regard to the Iraq War. He is the only candidate running on an anti-war platform, he is the only one who will stop the never ending flow of American lives and money into a country that does not want to be a satellite of the United States of America. When is enough enough? Unfortunately, Robert Kennedy, like his brother, was never able to exhibit his full potential and the Vietnam War continued for another five years. Where is the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel with regard to the Iraq War?

Senator Obama provides a change in both skin color and demeanor for the American presidency, as well as political discourse, both of which have been in need of maintenance for some time. While he also provides an ideology of much needed change when it comes to health care, taxes, and diplomacy, my support for the senator is driven by the belief that only a President Obama can lead the country through the darkness and into the light when it comes to the Iraq War. Only then can the government begin addressing those issues that are of the utmost importance to the American people. At least we can hope...