Realizations

I realize that this has been all over the media, and if you read this ever you are probably expecting me to make comments akin to those of Tim Russert or Tom Brokaw last night. Obama’s completion of the primacy season with the presumption of his nomination, as a candidate for President of the United States, will be viewed as among the most historically significant occurrences to have taken place during our lifetimes.

Again, if you’ve watched the news in the last twenty-four hours, you may have already heard this realization. Whether you are for or against Obama, you think he is too Liberal, or you feel his position on the War in Iraq is wrong, this is a milestone for Western Civilization.

Barrack Obama is the first person of color to be in the running for the top job in a Western Democracy. We have progressed beyond the EU, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, all of our peers, in this respect! In the spirit of full disclosure, I have been a fan of Obama’s for quite a while, as I am sure if you are reading this you know. Nevertheless, this is something about which I cannot help to write with excitement.

What is quite lovely about all of this is, in addition to the aforementioned statements or race, his positions are not those of the lunatic fringe. No, rather they are those of most Americans alive and voting.

In spite of what will be sold by McCain’s campaign, he is averse to affordable guaranteed healthcare for our citizens.[1] For the war in Iraq, I will not espouse McCain wants us to remain in Iraq for another hundred years; however, he has given no indication towards a clear exit strategy. On the economy and petroleum, in both cases, the two respective issues are intermingled. In fact, Iraq, Petroleum and the Economy are all, in multiple dimensions, connected to on another. McCain’s policies are a continuation of what is not working.

In essence, assuming Obama’s campaign is run correctly, the choice between the continuation of the worst presidency in our history and Obama make the choice seem rather easy. At this point, the question goes to running mates. I sincerely hope that Obama avoids nominating Hillary Clinton. While it could be a path of least resistance, there are others equally qualified and great for that which Obama could use. From my perspective, Joe Biden, Richard Lugar, or Christopher Dodd, they are all top tier candidates. While there is no gender diversity with that, I cannot see Obama being a candidate for change with Hillary that close to the presidency, with Bill that plugged into it as well.

[1] With friends who have survived cancer, the idea that for-profit companies could prevent them from being insured as private citizens repels me from the argument that government guaranteed healthcare is a step towards socialism or “big government.” If that were the case, our allies Canada, the UK, France, Norway, or Germany would all be socialists. In none of those cases is that true.