Polictial reflection during study break

Tomorrow, President-elect Obama will become Present Obama, leader of the United States of America.

In recent days, my "I voted for him out of necessity, not some fantasy of hope" bubble has been forced to rub elbows with the general sense of "oh isn't this wonderful" mindset of the masses. While I grumbled, I realized that perhaps I was not taking his inauguration in the fullness of its scope.

Despite what I think of him as a man and politician, he will be the first racial minority president elected. No small feat for a country built on inequality and violence.

Though I may find his "fancy rhetorical dance moves" overbearing and deliberately misleading, for the first time in years, we have a president who is not afraid of espousing the need and rightness of higher education. If indeed there is one thing I hope for from President Obama, it is the restoration of education as a good thing in the minds of American citizens.

In him we have a leader focused on individuals rather than corporations; community and national service rather than greed and rung-climbing; the reaching for high ideals rather than submitting to the ease of brute force.

Perhaps, perhaps, there is reason to hope. As they say, any change from what we had is good (minus Governor Palin).

To President-elect Obama: I don't quite like you and I still don't trust you. But good luck. As my President, I now stand by you.

Atlantic.com: Empathy for Sarah Palin?

This article on the Atlantic.com by Ta-Nehisi Coates is something that I have been thinking and feeling for some time now (hat-tip J'myle!).

The comments below come from many camps—some who found themselves identifying and feeling sorry for Sarah Palin and others who said she brought it on herself and deserved no pity.

There is one comment I find myself struggling with, and that is, that since she [Sarah Palin] knows she is so far out of her league, she should tell McCain that she can not run as his VP. Easy as that.

Except not. Should she have said no from the get go? Hell yes. But how many times have we not said no to something, the found ourselves in some nearly impossible situation from which we saw no out?

If she says "No more VP" to McCain now, that will bring all sorts of trouble for her and for him. He will have to find another running mate (not an easy search), the GOP party will seem to be in disarray and uncoordinated, and mismanaged (not saying they aren't but they are trying to put on a good face) and that could be enough to cost them the election.

If that we to happen, guess who all of GOP America would blame? None other than Governor Sarah Palin. She could never run for public office again, and her "betrayal" of the party would be (likely) unforgivable.

She's stuck, as so many of us find ourselves to be in situations that are out of our control: Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

So yeah, I feel bad for her. Not as a politician, but as a suffering human being.

Barak Obama vs. Sarah Palin

Some of you may be appalled to know this.

I was actually considering crossing party lines this election.

Oh, did you already get that indication from the mass of blog posts regaling you with my distaste, distrust, and discomfort for Barak Obama? Then I guess the above statement isn't much a surprise.

Try this one on for size:

I'm voting for Barak Obama.

It's true. I was either going to cross party lines or write in Hillary Clinton. Now, before you try and label me some ultra-left wing, man hating, rabid Clintonite nationalist, remember this: I believe the duty of every American is to vote their conscience. My conscience said to vote Mrs. Clinton because she was (is) the most qualified and ready.

But now, in light of Mrs. Sarah Palin being nominated as John McCain's VP running mate (mistress), I feel it is my duty to make sure (s)he doesn't win.

Mr. McCain is old. He could keel over November 5th if his wife said, "honey, lets have sex to celebrate your win!" Suddenly Maverick McCain is stone cold dead, and "lifetime member of the NRA, anti-right to choose, abstinence education is all children need to know about sex, we're fighting God's war in Iraq, crazy right wing religious zealot" Sarah Palin is President of the USA.

Dear God no.

I do my part in the name of lesser evil: I vote for Barak Obama.