It's the kind of day in washington, dc that reminds one that summer is here and it's going to be a long one. It's the kind of soupy, airless afternoon that makes you take the day for granted, knowing all too well the heat and humidity of this Sunday afternoon will be here next week and the week after that...so stay inside, what's the hurry, checking the calendar you see that summer hasn't officially begun.
So sitting here sweating -- the a/c broken -- the world cup between matches and the dog passed out, giving in to the heat -- a Washington Post story catches my eye.
It's about Barack Obama and whether he should run for president in 2008. Some say yes, others no. Some say he's new and fresh and just what a party filled with been there-done that figures needs. All typical talk. All the stuff we've heard and debated back and forth.
But then this line -- two sentences about three quarters of the way through the story leapt off the page. It was about an airplane and the young senator and a cloudy afternoon. there was a mention of Paul Wellstone and fluke of fate. Planes crash.
Calculating and scheming and triangulating. Delaying and deferring and hedging your bets. We all do it. Politicians live by it. But nothing is guaranteed. Tomorrow is promised to no one. Not even rising stars with cross-over appeal who could bring a nation together and bridge gaps and renew optimism in a divided, drifting nation.
Is a 44-year-old Senator without "experience", (quick--name the last senator with decades of experience to go directly from Capitiol Hill to the White House?), the only or even best hope the Democrats have?
Maybe he is. Consider it. I'm an Edwards guy. I respect his authenticity and his biography and his willingness to fight for something he believes in despite it's lack of political appeal (the issue of poverty). I think he could still be the fresh face we're looking for.
But there is something about Obama. Something that says "superstar". There is a trascendent quality about him. There is something to the symbolism: young and bi-racial, that screams "Now!"
When we're an aging and divided nation, when the opponents represent an old way and a world view that is failing, ceding ground to the rest of the world, when the opposing party may well nominate an aging man or a younger one with an aging philosophy...why should we approach this moment using the same old standards and conventions of every other election?
Why not turn it on its head? He should do it. And we should encourage him to do it. And we should nominate him if he does. We'd be tone-deaf fools if we did it any other way.
Want to see the Democrats shine? Want to become the coolest, hippest party overnight? Want to make history and send a message to the rest of the world that America is indeed changing? Do you want renewal and cross-over appeal?
If you do: you should want Barack Obama to run for president in 2008 and win.
Conventional wisdom says: wait. Next time. Later. That's the way politics works. Right? But politics doesn't work.
So why play by the rules of a broken game?
I say: Go for it. Run. Maybe team up with a General who everyone respects: Wesley Clark. Turn it all on its head. The Party, the system, the nation.
We're at a crossroads. Be bold. To hell with history. The forecast says hot and humid weather will continue into tomorrow. They seem pretty certain. There's certainty in forecasting the weather. But not a whole lot else. Not in politics or in life.
We have a chance right now to do something bold. He has a say in it too. Maybe we'll come together -- like a cool and warm airmass and we'll make some noise and relief will come as the skies open and you know what comes after the rain.