I'm a 44 year old white male with an income in the top 3-5%. I am a lifelong Democrat who has flirted with the notion of 3rd parties. I have never consummated that relationship because the reality is that there has never been a viable third party in my political lifetime.
I still have my John Anderson pin. But that doesn't mean that my attraction to a 3rd party can't be realized within my own Democratic party. And I have worked for that change since before I was old enough to vote. I supported Gary Hart and even Jerry Brown. And of course Howard Dean, which led me here to Daily Kos. But when the dream faded I always came home and supported my party's chosen candidate.
I don't really identify with any tags like "liberal". What has always attracted me in politics is what Markos and Jerome aptly call "crashing the gates." I dream of leaders who will at least make a best effort to fight the strangle hold of power, corruption and greed (corporate and individual) that seems to grow and threaten my future the future of my kids. You know, that whole "for the people, by the people" thing?
A President that is a breath of fresh air. That brings young people into the process. That brings cynics into the process. A President that knows that their ability to build a better tomorrow is in direct relation to the number and passion of the people that they can engage to get involved.
Is it about Policy? Sure. Of course. We have some fundamental differences in our society about certain issues. By and large these differences are what divided the two parties. Any Democratic president we get is going to work towards making progress on many of the issues I care about.
Is it about Experience? I don't think so. We've had elected officials with it and with out it and I don't see much of a difference. Any intelligent Commander-in-Chief is going to make sure that they are surrounded with the experience they lack.
From a Policy and Experience perspective, I could flip a coin over my party's potential candidates.
But when it comes to who's going to bring new people and new passion to the process and hence more ability to get these things done? There is only one answer.
In my political lifetime I have never been been this close to seeing my dream candidate go the distance. I had such high hopes for Gov. Dean's candidacy. I thought when that ended that we had hit a high water mark.
Until Barack Obama announced his intention to run, I was a John Edwards fan with Hillary Clinton a close and quite acceptable second choice.
When she comes out now with her negativity, cheap shots, lies and so on I get angry but remind myself that that is how the process works. That's the game she learned how to play and she plays it to win. Good for her. I'm proud that she's a fighter and that she refuses to fade away. Under different circumstances I'd be wearing a Hillary t-shirt right now.
But the way she campaigns is also metaphoric for what I've hated about politics forever. I accept it because I have no choice. Until now. We have a choice now. The politics of yesterday or the potential of a better politics for tomorrow?
Will Obama wave a wand and make all the badness go away? Of course not. Will he fall flat on his face? Possibly. Will he turn out to be just another shifty politician? Possibly. The way I look at though is that we've got nothing to lose and everything to gain by going for it.
See, if a leader can inspire people to believe and hope he has already succeeded because that belief, hope and passion takes on a life of its own and that's when good things become possibilities.
This is our moment in time to turn a very heavy page. I'm pretty sure that the next page is a lot better. I'm not positive but I do know that the current page is a pretty bad read.
I want to crash the gate. So bad.