After reading all the laments regarding Senator Obama's tacking to the right or shifting to the center or whatever you want to call it I have got to speak up.

A little background...I watched Barack Obama deliver his wonderful and inspiring speech at the last Democratic convention and jumped up and pointed at the TV exclaiming..."Next President! Next President!". I was basically sold from go.

Senator Obama gained my trust early in the primary season with his excellent campaign strategy and subsequent execution of said strategy. I am still 100% behind the candidacy of Barack Obama for President and my support hasn't wavered in the least. I am one of the most cynical people I know, especially regarding American politics but I am supremely hopeful about the Presidency of Barack Obama and that hope has not fluctuated in the least during the recent FISA debacle.

I'm not sure if this constitutes a diary but I am publishing because I see a need for balance on the board today. I will delete if the consensus is that my words are unhelpful.

Woke up-got outta bed, dragged a comb across my head (well not really-I don't own a comb). Made my way down...shit-I don't have any stairs either.

Anyway, grabbed a red bull and headed down to the RBC meeting in Woodley Park. I didn't have tickets so I planned on photographing the protest while staying out of the ruckus at the behest of the Obama campaign.

One of the great things about living in DC is the proximity to power. Not that I really care about weilding said power myself but it's really neat just to witness it in our day to day lives here sometimes.

Follow me if you have enough internet speed for several photos.....

 So I was able to attend Senator Obama's "Get Out the Vote" rally in Charlotte,NC last night at the Cricket Arena, a smaller, older and intimate arena near downtown Charlotte.

I arrived early to insure a good spot to listen to Senator Obama and because I wanted to photograph the event. I should say that I am an semi-amateur photographer trying to do more photography and less of my day job. I use Leica M series cameras (www.leica-camera.com) and for this rally I was using the sublime Leica M8, their digital rangefinder camera.

One of my dreams has always been to be a photojournalist on a presidential campaign so this event was a fun little exercise in combining my love of photography, my aspirations and supporting the candidate that I feel is the best hope for our country to come along in my lifetime.

Ok-this is my first diary so cut me a little slack. I'm going to delve into a subject that is above my pay grade but that is really burning me up this week.

My premise is that the venerable Colin Powell, a man who has an incredible amount of respect across party lines and in the world at large, has gotten a free ride. We may need to take a closer look.

Colin Powell's name has been repeatedly floated as a running mate for both Senators Obama and McCain. General Powell's name has historically been floated as a candidate for the presidency itself. I'm one of the people who gave General Powell a pass on his presentation to the United Nations regarding Saddam Hussein's WMD programs...