why I came back to Obama...

I've said it before, and I maintain this simple reality - Barack Obama is a disappointment to those of us that hoped beyond hope that he could be a progressive savior, that he could be a man that could combine the anger we feel with the populist approach necessary to return this country to the way things should be. make no mistake about it - Obama is not that man. and I realize this does not seem like a ringing endorsement as of yet, but bear with me here, I swear it will be in the end...

I, along with countless others, had hoped Obama could be what he is not, a leader with the gumption to stick it to the proverbial man and return a government of the people, by the people and for the people to the people. if he has proven anything over the campaign trail it is this - the man either does not have the belief system, or the testicular fortitude to demand such a seismic shift. but he has also proven something else, something that I have come to realize is more valuable at this stage in american politics - that he has an incredible ability to rally vastly different people behind a simple message of hope and progress for all, behind the age-old, yet often forgotten, american belief that we are all in this together.

and that is why I have come back around to support Obama. I do not agree with some of his policies (although, his stance on minimum mandatory sentences shows that he just may have the above-referenced fortitude in him somewhere), but it is incredible what he has done for the political process in this country. for decades we have had leaders that spoke at us...if we were lucky they would speak to us. now we have found one that actually seems to talk for us. and it is incredible that when one does, they do so with a progressive voice, and the people flock to him and his simple message.

and truly, at this time in american politics, when the right has hijacked the landscape and so altered the culture and language that america has forgotten that its central role is to ensure the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of all people, Obama and the movement growing around him is exactly what it is needed. and perhaps that it really the reason I came back to Obama, not for the man, but for what he represents.

and so you ask, "but if you don't like his policies, how can you agree with what he represents?" to which the answer is simple - and one which the left has too often forgotten, to the detriment of our nation and the world - he represents a return to smart, progressive politics based on mutual respect and a sense of togetherness. do not mistake me for claiming he represents a turning away from partisanship...because that only means one is willing to agree with those that are wrong. what he represents is a return of the sleeping giant in this country, the forgotten majority of like-minded, forgiving, caring folks around the country - the kind of neighbor that opened his door to you as a child and gave you cold water while you and the other kids played ball in his yard - the kind of neighbor that brings over meals and offers help when the pink slip arrives - the kind of neighbor that this nation was born from.

Obama represents a chance that presents itself once a generation...the chance to alter the landscape of politics for the future. for several generations, this opportunity has been squandered - for others, it fell upon the wrong side and the reagan revolution left us with a false conservative majority that has gone to work dismantling all that was once good about this nation. we now have an opportunity to undo that, to return the conversation to where it should be, where "liberal" is not a dirty word and the "left" party does not give your jobs away so CEOs can get bigger bonuses and throw you off welfare because if you and your children are starving and going without proper medical care you will magically find a good paying job - the same good paying job that the CEO shipped away to "globalization."

Obama is not the answer - but he is the vital middle man. Obama sets up the answer, and without Obama, we will not get to the answer. that is why it is so vital that he win this nomination over the democratic old guard, that is why it will be a national tragedy if he is not given the opportunity to run.

listen, it don't cost much...