Well, Super-Amazing-Fantastic-Tsunami-Fat-Duper-Tuesday is finally here. It’s such a weird feeling to know that at the end of the day, the race for party nominations will be a lot closer to a final decision. I don’t think it’s hard to guess which candidate earned my vote this morning. Much to my surprise, my polling location was a half of a block away and had no lines this morning as I was given a marker, a long sheet of paper, and instructions to basically play a matching game. I am officially a Chicago voter.

A cold and knee-deep snow gave me a reason to work from home on Friday and Monday, allowing me to take in all of the beauty that is the 24-hour news cycle. For the most part, I was treated to a loop of sound bites and in-depth analysis of what each candidate had for breakfast that morning. I’ve heard that the primary and general presidential election have become nothing more than a beauty or popularity contest, and if you pay attention to what these pundits have to say, you’re probably right. There’s no coverage of their actual positions or proposals, but instead we get to hear crap that doesn’t matter but somehow has been classified as news.

Somewhere in the garbage that’s fed to us, someone can actually dig a little and find real news and important coverage of the ideas and strategies that each candidate is talking about. The thing is, I am still waiting for a Hillary Clinton supporter to show any sign of understanding what her proposals are. I’m just left dumbfounded. I hear a lot of criticism thrown at Obama about how great his speeches are, but how little substance there is in the form of actual policy and proposals. Maybe it’s because I’ve been reading his books and campaign literature and listening to his speeches for the past year, but I just don’t see how anyone that has invested time into researching the candidates could say that.

But maybe that’s the problem.

I have a lot of hope for today’s results. Across the country, my age demographic is finally starting to pay attention and follow through by heading to the polls. There is a deep desire to have a president that inspires and leads in a positive way for the greater good, not a shill of war-mongering corporations.

I feel like there’s something better that we should be striving for, and to me, there’s only one candidate that can lead us in that direction.

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If you’ve received, forwarded, talked about, heard about, posted about, or had any other interaction with the crap-filled lies spread about presidential candidate Barack Obama, please read this.

If you have something… oh, I don’t know… researched and intelligent to say about Obama, I’d love to hear it.  Otherwise, move your mouse away from the forward button and read on.

Barack was born in Hawaii on August 4th, 1961. His father, Barack Obama Sr., was born and raised in a small village in Kenya. His mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in small-town Kansas. Her father worked on oilrigs during the Depression, and then signed up for World War II after Pearl Harbor, where he marched across Europe in Patton’s army.

Barack Obama grew up in Hawaii with his mother and his grandparents, and he lived in Indonesia with his mother and step-father for four years when he was in elementary school.

After graduating from Columbia University in New York, he became a community organizer working with churches on the South Side of Chicago. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review.

After studying at Trinity United Church of Christ, he was baptized and remains a committed and active Christian. He continues to attend regular services with his family at Trinity United Church of Christ.

Barack has never been a Muslim or practiced any other faith besides Christianity, and in January 2005 he was sworn into the U.S. Senate on his family Bible.

Barack’s patriotism and profound belief in the underlying principles of this country led him to teach Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago. He also worked as a Civil Rights attorney in Chicago, protecting the voting rights of minority communities. Eventually, his commitment to the people in his community led him to run for office as an Illinois State Senator where he served for 8 years representing the 13th district.

In the U.S. Senate, as a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senator Obama has fought to help Illinois veterans get the disability pay they were promised, while working to prepare the VA for the return of the thousands of veterans who will need care after Iraq and Afghanistan.

Barack believes that you show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans and veterans.

In November of 2007, General Tony McPeak, Major General J. Scott Gration, and Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig wrote an open letter praising Barack’s commitment to our troops and to US veterans. Here’s an excerpt:

“We also admire his strong support for our troops and veterans. As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, he has fought to improve care for wounded troops, slash red tape, and reform the disability review process. He also passed legislation to combat homelessness among veterans. As President, he will expand housing vouchers, and launch a new supportive services housing program for at-risk veterans and their families. In addition, he will improve mental health screening and treatment at all levels: from enlistment, to deployment, to reentry into civilian life.”

I’ve learned an important lesson while following the Democratic presidential nomination race. Apparently, you can say anything you want about a candidate as long as you follow it up the next day with an apology. Why didn’t I think of this strategy earlier in life?! I feel like I’ve missed so many opportunities to gain an advantage on others by spreading vicious lies about them!

Professor: “Dave, it seems you didn’t put a lot of effort into this paper… almost like you did it an hour before class…”
Me: “I heard you stuff apples with poisoned razor blades and hand them out to sick kids at the hospital.”

Then, of course, I would send a follow-up e-mail directly to the professor the next day with a pseudo-apology that somehow still supports my claim.

Or even better…

Cop: “Sir, it seems you were going about 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit of 30 in that school zone you just blew through.”
Me: “Officer, I heard you sold your own children to pay for your wife’s implants.”

Seriously though, isn’t this strategy of the Clinton campaign just becoming a bit old? Let’s see what has been brought up by Hillary and her supporters in the past couple of weeks, only to see an “apology” surface 24 hours later…

-Obama is still doing drugs;
-Obama’s ambition to become president started in kindergarten, which obviously means he’s unqualified (I mean, really? Does that work for all childhood ambitions? “Sorry John Glenn, we heard you once told your grammar school teacher you wanted to be an astronaut. We’re scrubbing your mission.”);
-Obama doesn’t have the experience to lead (apparently 6 years of elected public service is greater than 10? I should probably check my math skills.);
-And of course today, when a former senator who has endorsed Hillary has now apologized for pulling the Muslim card. Nevermind the Clinton staff members that forwarded e-mails claiming Obama is a Muslim who wants to bring jihad to the US. Fantastic, huh?

Oh, by the way, I heard you once robbed a Meals on Wheels truck and set it on fire in front of group of starving orphans.

Don’t worry – expect your apology in and e-mail tomorrow.

So, Pastor Daniel spoke on Sunday on the topic of suffering and the wisdom within the Bible pertaining to the earthly pains we are faced with.  It was a great message and can be found on iTunes if you’re interested.  What struck me a couple of times though is how peaceful my life has been over the past several months.  I had to keep asking myself, is this how I should feel though?  Should I be happy that I’m happy and just ignore it?

I mean, I’ve got a great girl.  She’s been such a steady part of my life since February and has become a rock of trust and comfort.

My job stresses me out at times, but I believe in what I am doing and I feel both supported and challenged by my boss.  I know that she believes in my abilities, but she also wants to see me grow and develop within the organization.

But why… why in the world… why in the world are people supporting Hillary Clinton?  I just don’t get it.  She’s been torn apart in every debate by Barack, she’s shown in polls done by left-leaning organizations that she’s unelectable, and she’s got a laugh similar to a hyena using a jack-hammer.  HMOs?  Thanks Hillary.  She polarizes people in her own party, let alone the country.  The time is perfect for an idealistic, young, strong leader, and Mrs. Clinton just doesn’t fit the bill.

Why?  Why do I have to suffer through another primary candidate that shows so much promise, but somehow isn’t established enough?  In the grand scheme of things though, I keep getting gut checked by Pastor D’s message.

But why?  She’s too polished and her handlers are too aggressive to let her pull a Howard Dean and trip in the homestretch.  Can someone who supports Hillary honesty stand up and give me 5 reasons why she should be president?  I can go back and forth all day about Barack, but I see no valid support of Hillary or her platform.  Does she have a platform?

Anyway, I like mint ice cream.  It’s my favorite.

Three years ago, I watched in awe as the Junior Senator from Illinois delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention that connected with me unlike any politician or national leader has ever done before. I remember flipping channels and catching C-SPAN’s coverage of the convention, most likely during a commercial break for something much more entertaining. I had heard the name Barack Obama, but I was living in camp-world with Minnesota on the brain – not Illinois.

I remember being challenged to have hope – the audacity to believe that we should be optimistic and that we should take on overbearing issues like unemployment, health care, education, and every other pressing issue that had been ignored for far too long. Watching Obama speak, I felt like I was watching John or Robert Kennedy and became a little jealous of my grandparents. It must be at that point in the cycle when an entire generation needs a leader that can inspire hope, and I remember thinking that Obama may be the man to do it.

I became a Barack Obama fanboy.

Now, as I read through his recent speech at a Ministers’ Conference, I feel more than ever that this is the time for a leader like Barack – someone who can inspire an entire generation and lead our nation into a progressive future.

Here is the speech he recently gave – give it a read when you get a chance. If it brings you into the Obama fanboy fold, let me know.

Also – do your part. Get involved. Make sure you are registered to vote now so when the primaries roll around, you can decide who your party puts on the ticket!

A few excerpts that gave me goosebumps…

If we have more black men in prison than are in our colleges and universities, then it’s time to take the bullet out. If we have millions of people going to the emergency room for treatable illnesses like asthma; it’s time to take the bullet out. If too many of our kids don’t have health insurance; it’s time to take the bullet out. If we keep sending our kids to dilapidated school buildings, if we keep fighting this war in Iraq, a war that never should have been authorized and waged, a war that’s costing us $275 million dollars a day and a war that is taking too many innocent lives — if we have all these challenges and nothing’s changing, then every minister in America needs to come together — form our own surgery teams — and take the bullets out.

—————-

We have been told that our mounting debts don’t matter, that the economy is doing great, and that people’s anxieties about rising health care costs and disappearing pensions aren’t a big deal. We’ve been told that climate change is a hoax, that our broken schools cannot be fixed, and that we are destined to send millions of dollars a day to Mideast dictators for their oil.

And when it comes to faith, we’ve been told that all that matters is what divides us – Evangelicals from Mainline Protestants, the Black church from the White church, Catholics from Protestants from Muslims from Jews.

And when we try to have an honest debate about the crises we face, whether it’s from the pulpit or the campaign trail, the pundits don’t want us to find common ground, they want us to find someone to blame. They want to divide us into Red States and Blue States, and tell us to always point the finger at somebody else – the other party, or gay people, or people of faith, or immigrants.