For me, there are several reasons I've decided to actively support Barack, beyond a basic agreement with his policy positions. It has to do, for me, with Obama's ability to inspire in ways that other candidates simply can't or don't. I think it says a lot about him that he's been very clear that his campaign would not be about the kind of slash-and-burn, Machiavellian politics that the likes of Roger Ailes and Karl Rove have unapologetically advocated and pursued in recent years.

Obama's messages of inclusion, hope, and unity I feel are the necessary antidote in the body politic to the poisonous policies and politics of the past 20+ years, in particular the past 7 (I can't even begin to describe how angry I am at the damage that the Bush Administration has done to the health of the republic). With his sometimes soaring rhetoric Obama can evoke like no other the deeply held beliefs we have of ourselves as a nation of fundamentally good and compassionate people, grounded in our shared regard for human rights, political equality, economic opportunity for all, the right to privacy, freedom of expression and other personal liberties and limits on government enshrined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

I think many of us feel that, in losing sight of who we are as a people and what truly makes this country great, we've lost our way and have been quickly losing hope. Obama's message of change and hope, to me, comes at just the right time and is way more than a catchy campaign slogan. And it just seemed so fitting to me that this message comes to us from a man whose father was from Kenya and mother from Kansas, who was both a child of divorce (my own parents divorced when I was 8) and a student of the world, who both figuratively and literally embodies the diversity and promise of the American experience.

This view of Obama and the importance of his candidacy crystallized in my head as a result of a speech he gave in November, which I found on You Tube after reading about it in a David Broder column. I showed this video to my folks over Christmas, and they, too, were floored; my dad's remark was that the last leader on the national stage to have this kind of rhetorical power was John Kennedy (consider, now, Caroline Kennedy's recent endorsement). It was clear to me then that there was something special about this man and it was time for me to get off my duff, get engaged, and help him build the coalition for change that we are all so hungry for.

- dave //

Interesting note on California poll numbers, with plenty of extrapo-interpolation by blogger Al Giordano on what the real story is more likely to be (so much speculation, so little time!).

- dave //

According to Aristotle, at any rate.

So with this post begins the conversion of this blog into a political vehicle. If y'all don't mind too much, that is.

So here we are. Post South Carolina, post Kennedy endorsement of Obama. I'm now in the unexpected position of being a district captain for the Obama campaign, and the story is only going to get more exciting from here.

First thing's first.

Here's why I'm for Obama, in a nutshell:

• Why Obama is the right messenger: Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tydfsfSQiYc | Article http://www.thestate.com/opinion/story/293153.html
• Why Obama's message is the right one: Video http://youtube.com/watch?v=Kf0x_TpDris | Article http://www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=273319
• Why this is the right time for Obama and his message: Article http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200712/obama

(And if you're looking for inspiration through music, check this out: http://www.myspace.com/bergevinbrothersmusic.)

- dave //