Whenever I turn to politics, I become quite cynical. I'm not really an emotional guy and there have only been a few things in this election where I can really look back and say "Wow- that really, really moved me."
Sure, I love to laugh. And there have been more than enough opportunities to do so. Any time Republican candidates have gained attention, it's been by making an ass of themselves, imo.
Here are two of the first things that moved me and continue to do so:
...That a black person can actually become president in the US.
...That a person with a Muslim sounding name can actually become president.
In my opinion, those two facts alone will, by themselves, deal a huge blow to the world-wide recruitment of extremists- in effect meaning that Obama will have done more to defeat extremist movements around the world automatically upon taking office than Bush in his failed, washed-up eight years in office. I personally hope one of the first policy changes he makes is to stop referring to the dreadful phrase "War on Terror" (and "War on Drugs" while you're at it). Paraphrasing a recent Brezinski interview from memory "There is no such thing as a war on terror. Terror is a tactic of aggression and you can no more declare a war on it than you can war on Blitzkrieg."
Now I'd like to add one more thing to the above list... this BBC video: Rednecks Support for Obama. It is one of the most uplifting videos I've encoutered since this election started.
By the way, Brezinski gave Obama one of his first endorsements in September of last year:
WASHINGTON (CNN) – Providing a much-needed boost to a candidate whose judgment in international affairs has been called into question, former President Carter’s National Security Advisor, Zbigniew Brezinski, introduced Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, during a campaign stop in Clinton, Iowa on Wednesday.
"I’m here today because I strongly believe that the next election is not just to choose a new president," Brezinski said. "The choice that you will be making will define America’s role in a historically new era. We have elections every four years, but only once in a while is a new president facing the opportunity to shape a new sense of direction for America," explained Brezinski.
For those interested...the first half of my life was spent in Lousiana (where I was born) and Texas (where I went to high school). The second half of my life (i.e. my adult life) was spent in Europe.