@Randem

My photo shoot last night caused me to miss the entire broadcast of the DNC wrap-up. But when I checked Google Reader afterwards and saw the buzz, I decided to watch the replay on C-SPAN and see what everyone s talking about.

And so it was that I was up until 2:00am watching a rerun of a political broadcast on C-SPAN. (Is there any single sentence that could make me sound like more of a nerd?) But it certainly was worth it.

Barack Obama is a demi-god. There can be no other explanation. The man is incredible. And what better place to give that speech than in a sporting arena in front of 80,000 people, because he certainly hit the ball out of the park.

When he described all the ills of the past eight years and then looked dead into the camera and shouted “Enough!”, I got chills. Finally, someone wants to fix our broken country. (And finally someone is willing to scold the men who are ruining it!)

He pulled no punches, yet made no insults. He attacked like a prizefighter, but never hit below the belt. And he finally gave me the one thing I’ve always felt was missing — substance.

My biggest complaint about Obama was that I never felt like I knew what he stood for, but last night he laid out a very clear, very firm position on every single issue that is important to Americans. And I agreed with him on every last detail of it.

It was a beautiful thing. I can’t help but be excited about the next 70 days, and then the next 4-8 years for our country. Now, where do I get one of those Obama t-shirts?

I turned on the DNC last night while I was painting. After the first night, I came away with a number of impressions on the Democratic party and on their candidate.

Nancy Pelosi

First, I have a hard time viewing Pelosi’s big speech as anything more than a token gesture toward the first ever woman Speaker of the House. She is far from what I’d call a team player, and at this point I feel she’s more of a pawn to the lobbyists and someone who might be more comfortable playing for the red team. Her speech was boring, robotic, and insincere, and that took the all the wind out of the few good things she said.

Jesse Jackson Jr.
While not as bad as Pelosi, I didn’t find myself inspired by Jackson either. If Pelosi was a token to the women, Jackson was a token to the black voters — he was a convenient tie to MLK, and to Chicago. He spoke a little more passionately (only a little), but I think he might actually mean what he says. Still, he lacked the charisma to get people excited. Look, I understand that you’re all reading from a TelePrompTer, but if you’d bothered to look over the speech one time back at the hotel, you might have had a better idea of how to deliver it.

Ted Kennedy
If charisma was lacking for most of the speakers last night, it was made up in spades by the appearance of Ted Kennedy, battling with a terminal and incurable cancer. I listened to most of the night’s events from the next room while painting the walls, but Kennedy’s passion brought out to the front of the tv to pay my full attention. When he’s gone, he’s going to leave a gaping hole in the Democratic party, with some big shoes to fill.

Michelle Obama
If nothing else, it was worth watching the DNC last night just for the chance to learn about Michelle Obama. Even as much as I pay attention to politics — particularly during election season — I have to humbly admit that I knew very little about this woman. After last night, however, I really like her a lot.

I could tell from her speech that Michelle Obama is a truly impassioned woman. In spite of getting fouled up by the TelePrompTer once or twice, I got the impression that she not only read the speech beforehand, but believed in it and practiced it. She spoke with emotion, and the words she said were truly inspiring.

I was moved. As I listened to Mrs. Obama speak, I imagined a country full of patriotism and pride, a brilliant future within my reach. I imagined that this must have been what it was like half a century ago when John Kennedy ran. If “Hope” was the message, she delivered it loud and clear.

The South Side

At no point in the evening can I remember hearing a generic reference to Chicago. Every reference was made to “The South Side of Chicago.” Now perhaps I’m a bit biased, having grown up just a few blocks outside of the south side, but I think this was a really well-used distinction.

The south side is steeped in history, tradition, and reputation. Unlike the forest of skyscrapers and suits that fill the loop, the south side is, and always has been, an underprivileged blue-collar area. It’s a place where nobody is special, not even a hotshot lawyer with a degree from Harvard. On the south side, you can’t insulate yourself from everyone else and be a pretentious snob. Even from inside of a four-million dollar home in Hyde Park, you can still hear the car alarms and the gunshots at night, and you still see the homeless people and the drug dealers around you. Every day.

The Hope I See
The prospect of Barack Obama as president is an exciting one. And it’s important to note that it is exciting regardless of policies, regardless of position, regardless of “the issues.” Barack, and his family, represent real people. If he is elected, he will pave the way for all of us to dream big.

We grow up being told we can be anything we want to be, even President, if we set our minds to it. But as we grow up, we learn what a lie that is, as we watch rich sons of rich fathers exercise their entitlement. We watch the children of wealthy, influential parents fulfill their destiny to keep each other rich at the expense of everyone else.

But Barack Obama is a real person. The son of a single parent? That describes most of the people I grew up with, but it doesn’t describe sons of Presidents or sons of Admirals. A home in Hyde Park is worlds away from an enormous ranch in Crawford, Texas. A guy with a net worth of a few hundred thousand is a stark difference from an oil baron who owns his own baseball team.

Moreover, Barack is young and hip. His wife is young and hip. They’re charismatic, attractive, and exciting. They speak to where this country is and where it can go, rather than the legacy of Presidents we’ve had who just want to keep it the way it is.

I guess what I’m saying is that I’m really excited about this candidate, and about what he could mean for our country.

I don’t know what I think is worse, the fact that John McCain’s latest campaign ad has sunken low enough to call Obama the Antichrist, or the fact that there are people out there who are actually buying into this horseshit.

There is so much wrong with this that I don’t know where to start. I suppose a good place to start is Snopes, which points out plainly how much bullshit all the antichrist talk is anyway.

But I’m really mind-blown at the baseness and audacity of such an ad. I mean seriously, people… how can you even call that political? This is the equivalent of campaigning on a message of “elect me because my opponent is clearly better than me, and that makes him evil.” And this from the guy who promised to run a policy-based campaign without attacks. Come on!

Moreover, doesn’t this defy all logic? I mean, if Christians truly believe the horseshit they keep telling each other, then they should welcome the antichrist! I can’t believe I’m even humoring the thought of it, but let’s just go down that road for a minute…

So let’s play along, and assume there actually will be an armageddon, and that we’re near the “end times”, and that the antichrist had just made his appearance. If you really believe in all that bullshit, you should be happy! You should be celebrating! It would signal the beginning of God’s great plan, and you’re going to magically disappear anyway, right?

And wouldn’t it be heresy to vote against him? If he really is the antichrist, wouldn’t a vote against his election be the equivalent of a vote against God’s plan? Wouldn’t it make sense then to say that voting against the antichrist is voting for evil? Because, after all, by working against the master plan, you are actively trying to keep “the devil” in the world and delay its destruction?

Yeah.

So the fact that these religious nut-jobs and assholes are actually biting this bait proves something much bigger: deep down inside, they really don’t believe any of this horseshit either. They’re afraid the world will end, but they don’t really believe they’re going to be spared (or “saved”, as they call it in their cult code language). A vote against a possible antichrist is the equivalent of saying “I want to live — right here on earth — because I’m not sure I really believe in this place called heaven, or my place therein.” And thus the entire religious argument uravels yet again. Funny how that always happens when you follow logic.

Which leads me back around to where I started. I just don’t know which I find more offensive: the hideous depravity of Republican campaign tactics, or the self-deluded masses who are, like sheep, swallowing it up.

This is the kind of spam I’d like to get more of:

Subject: FW: WHO IS BARACK OBAMA?

There are many things people do not know about BARACK OBAMA. It is every American’s duty to read this message and pass it along to all of their friends and loved ones.

Barack Obama wears a FLAG PIN at all times. Even in the shower.

Barack Obama says the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE every time he sees an American flag. He also ends every sentence by saying, “WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.” Click here for video of Obama quietly mouthing the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE in his sleep.

A tape exists of Michelle Obama saying the PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE at a conference on PATRIOTISM.

Every weekend, Barack and Michelle take their daughters HUNTING.

Barack Obama is a PATRIOTIC AMERICAN. He has one HAND over his HEART at all times. He occasionally switches when one arm gets tired, which is almost never because he is STRONG.

Barack Obama has the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE tattooed on his stomach. It’s upside-down, so he can read it while doing sit-ups.

There’s only one artist on Barack Obama’s iPod: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.

Barack Obama is a DEVOUT CHRISTIAN. His favorite book is the BIBLE, which he has memorized. His name means HE WHO LOVES JESUS in the ancient language of Aramaic. He is PROUD that Jesus was an American.

Barack Obama goes to church every morning. He goes to church every afternoon. He goes to church every evening. He is IN CHURCH RIGHT NOW.

Barack Obama’s new airplane includes a conference room, a kitchen, and a MEGACHURCH.

Barack Obama’s skin is the color of AMERICAN SOIL.

Barack Obama buys AMERICAN STUFF. He owns a FORD, a BASEBALL TEAM, and a COMPUTER HE BUILT HIMSELF FROM AMERICAN PARTS. He travels mostly by FORKLIFT.

Barack Obama says that Americans cling to GUNS and RELIGION because they are AWESOME.