When a young man, the first African student to be accepted at the University of Hawaii, stepped on this most verdant and volcanic soil, events to possibly change the world had begun. Sorry to wax so sentimental, verging on the messianic, but I am an old white woman who has been a political animal all of my voting life. I have voted first for JFK, diverging later in my life to work for the Goldwater campaign in Montgomery, Alabama. Not to belabor the point but I have 'been' for many candidates ranging from Republicans in my younger years to Clinton and Kerry most recently. To finally make my point, never have I loved and believed in a candidate so vociferously as I do Barack Obama.
His birth in Hawaii and his subsequent years, the melding of his soul in the fires of racial unrest, have created a young man of uncommon beauty...... physically, emotionally and intellectually. Now he is offering his wealth of talent and appeal to get this country on the right track. I cannot think of anything more exciting than to wake up on the morning after election night and find that President Barack Hossein Obama will be our new leader. And if I, as an American of the south, think this is exciting, I can only imagine how the rest of the world will react. 'Dear God, America has come to her senses. She has elected a man who will restore justice and peace to this torn planet of ours' , they will most probably say.
John McCain is a hero - no doubt of that. But he sings the bush tune with the same lyrics. Hillary Clinton? What can I say? I'm a woman...she's a woman but I do not want her as our leader. She is no Maggie Thatcher, Indira Ghandi nor Bhutto. She is shrill, shrewish, glib and wants to win at any cost. No more Clinton drama. He balanced the budget and she says she can do it again. But listen up, Hillary! Your husband balanced a slightly unbalanced budget under the old George Bush. Not this dude of a son of his who has wracked America's economy in the name of a war to enrich his oil buddies. This is a doozy and can't be fixed over night - maybe not even for years. However, Barack Obama who holds out the prospect of an America that will engage her foes in peace talks and carrots instead of sticks and bombs, can possibly bring about a more stable economy in doing so. War can fill the coffers just so much. A hopeless, quagmire of a war never gives enrichment for long. These wars, such as Viet Nam, only create havoc among the citizenry and untold medical expenses for wounded veterans needing help for years to come.
America, we have a chance for a new day and a leader who will be unlike any we have probably ever known. Let's grasp this reality. Barack Obama is our lodestar. He will lead us into a new era. I can feel it in my old bones.
