the power of positive thinking

If you know me at all, you know that tomorrow is my Christmas. Making tonight Christmas Eve. I'm jittery, excited, nervous, optimistic, scared, hopeful, insanely eager, obsessive, and also very uncomfortable. I'm in a glass box of way too many emotions.

I've been a full-fledged political junkie since at least my junior year of high school. Unless you are a fellow true junkie, you can't really understand. Polls, talking points, talking heads, endless analysis—my bread and butter. I'm ready for the election to be over, not because of all the hate that people complain of (which comes mostly from one side), or because it’s been going on too long (since the day after the '06 midterm election), but because I really, truly believe that this is the most important election of my lifetime and I want to know the result. This is not a last-ditch plea to persuade anyone to vote for Obama--you'll have to live with that decision yourself.



Hope and change. I heard Obama’s 2004 DNC speech, and then I heard him at an event in DC in fall of ’05. I’ve read his books and followed him, his votes, and his statements. More than I believe that this is the most important election of my life, I believe Barack Obama is the president our country needs. As much as this election is about a change from the Bush administration, even if the past 8 years had been sunshine and clear skies, I would be just as strong in my convictions because this is so much bigger than partisan politics. I’ve had friends vote for Bob Barr or “none of the above” and I can’t even fathom that. There is no choice. Even some of my most ardent Republican family members have seen the light and voted for Obama. I could blog endlessly about why I think McCain is wrong, or that Palin makes me want to punch her., but I want to focus on why Obama is right.

Obama believes in a better America than what has been the past eight years. One more compassionate, more generous, and more decent. “That's the promise of America,” he says “the idea that we are responsible for ourselves, but that we also rise or fall as one nation; the fundamental belief that I am my brother's keeper; I am my sister's keeper.” He will restore the government to fulfill its purpose of protecting Americans and promoting the general welfare. He will work for education, the economy, jobs, and healthcare. Obama has a plan. Read about it. Barack Obama = values. He is honest, hard-working, brilliant, selfless, self-reliant, respectful, empathetic, kind, compassionate and faithful. Obama is not about ego. He is about bettering America, restoring the American dream, which has been damaged whether you want to admit it or not.

“America, now is not the time for small plans.” Simple enough. The stakes are high. We are at war, our economy is on the floor, healthcare is neither affordable nor accessible, we don’t take care of our veterans, unemployment/jobs lost overseas, Katrina, education. Do we need to go on? I know one president isn’t going to cure all our ills, but Obama is going to make a change and improve the state of our union. Obama doesn’t think all these challenges are the government’s fault either.

This is about OUR future. Politics, hate it or love it, effects you. The result of this election is not irrelevant to your life. Are you going to have kids and raise a family here? This matters. Obama’s politics are those of hope and change. Cynics, these are more than talking points.

I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses, I’m not a fanatic, and I’m not an idealist. This is just how I feel. I've donated time and money. I've been glued to this campaign. Maybe I've cried (but I had company in my mom while we watched basically spellbound when he gave his acceptance speech).

Tomorrow is going to go down in history. And I can’t wait. But I think it will be hard to sleep comfortably tonight with my breath held and my fingers crossed. Yes we can!

One more thing, I've been using a lot of self control not to blog about Prop 8. But since it is election eve, I'm going to vent. I could talk about the law and how Prop 8 actually does affect legal rights, contrary to popular opinion. Or how about the fact that some of the arguments for the “yes on 8” side were once used against interracial marriage? Or the history behind the separation of church and state in this country. Prop 8 has the state government essentially taking sides in a religious debate. Prop 8 is unfair and wrong. It is about discrimination and intolerance. It will use state law to single out one group of Californians to be treated differently.

I know it's old but I watched this video again today and it gives me chills. The speech alone is even better.