President Obama?

Ladies and Gentleman,

I am about to embark upon a treacherous journey to a place where many others have journeyed before me.... that's right... a post about politics!

I have voted in 2 presidential elections. I am old enough to have voted in four, but who's counting. When I turned 18, I was more excited about getting into nightclubs than I was about being able to vote. The first election that I was able to vote in was for Clinton's first term. I had not planned to vote that day. I thought about it all day at work but on the way home, I decided that I was too tired to stand in line at the polls. Fate was at work that day. I was on the subway on my way home when who should I run into? My dad. I asked him where he was headed and he said he was on his way to the polls to vote and implored me to come with him (actually he gave a rather amusing lecture about wasting my rights). So off I went to stand in line at the polls with my dad. Those of you who read my recent post about my Dad are probably not surprised. What can I say--I love that guy!!

The second election in which I was able to vote was Bill Clinton's second term. I figured there was no way Dole could beat him so why should I waste my precious time? I was young--sue me! The third was Gore verses....who was it again? Oh Yeah!!! BUSH!! again I did not vote. Not because I thought that one was more likely to win than the other, I really just didn't care. HELLOOOO SUE ME---STILL YOUNG! I will say that's one were I am REAAALLLY sorry that I did not vote.

The fourth election in which I was able to vote was Bush verses Lurch---I mean Kerry. While I had a strong dislike for Bush, I was not really excited about Kerry, but I thought it was time for the unknown evil. The driving factor or me voting this time around was the fact that I was now a parent and I felt that it was important for my daughter to see me take an active role in determining the future of our country. So she and I went together and I even let her wear the "I Voted" sticker.

So here we are approaching the 5th election in which I am able to vote. Still close to two years out, but I'm kind of excited. I think the republicans don't stand a chance in hell, but I feel strongly enough about the potential democratic candidates that I am thinking about my vote all the time. U.S. Senator Barack Obama announced his development of a presidential exploratory committee which basically means he going to try to catch the golden snitch of the presidency (I know--too much Harry Potter does this to me!)

At this point we have two front runners on the Democratic side, Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama. The prospect of a Democratic candidate who might either be black or a woman is VERY exciting to me. When the subject of Clinton and Obama first started coming up in the news I felt conflicted. As a black woman, where do my loyalties lie? Is this even about loyalties? HELL NO! It's about politics - which is about loyalties by the way. And as sexist as this may sound, I think Americans are more ready for a Black man to run our country than they are for a woman of any color. After all she could get PMS and start a war... in a country... that has done nothing to us!

One of the things that I've heard over the years that I buy into is the effect of the invent of television on politics. Now that we can SEE the potential candidates, how much does their appearance affect the vote? I think a lot. We can see them, hear them and get a broad sense of their personalities. From this we make a decision on who is more likable. Then we throw in their actual stance on political issues to sure up our case for them.

My opinion is that Clinton is just not likable! She comes off to me as cold and power hungry. Many people think she was running the White House when Bill was the president. So does this mean that theoretically she has had her term and should not be eligible to run? And then there's the fact that she stayed with him after he not only cheated on her but lied about it and then humiliated her for all the world to see by announcing his indiscretion on national television. What a fool! Now as an American I feel that the President of our country deserves a blow any time he wants one. The idea is NOT TO GET CAUGHT. So where was Hilary when he needed this blow? Can you say Health Care Reform (WHO?? What's that?? -- EXACTLY!!). In the interest of full disclosure if it came down to Clinton and a republican who intends to "Stay the course" in Iraq, she will definitely get my vote.

Obama on the other hand is a fresh face. He doesn't seem to have the political and personal baggage that Clinton has. His lack of longstanding political experience is what makes him attractive to me as a candidate. He brings the potential of new ideas, new plans, bipartisan relationships and spring and flowers and sunshine and rainbows! (singing..Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kitten...) okay I lost it for a minute, but I'm back.

He has a new plan for withdrawing troops from Iraq that does not include withholding additional funding for the troops that are already there. My opinion on the war in Iraq is that it never should have started, but now that we are there, we have to support our men and women who were brave enough to serve. We need to bring the war to a close and safely bring home our people. How do we do that? I have no idea which is why I am not running for president, but feel free to send your donation to the Let's Pretend I'm Not Gonna Be President Exploratory Committee.

I will be following this race closely and I WILL vote. This time I will vote because I feel that I have more of a vested interest in the outcome--not because of trying to do the right thing with a family member. I will be following the candidates positions on the major issues - in particular the war. I have a family member serving in Iraq and a close friend serving in Afghanistan and I am praying for the safe return of both.

I think we are gearing up for a heated election period and I am very excited about the outcome. My crazy opinions be damned, I encourage each to you to have your say and vote in the 2008 presidential election. I'll see you at the polls!