Audacity of Hope?

I phone banked last night for Mr. Barack Obama. I love that man! I love what he stands for. I love what he brings to the table. I make no excuses for who I want to win the election and I broadcast to everyone who asks: O to the B to the A to the M to the A! I'm an Obama mama and will remain so until he does something catastrophic to his campaign (i.e. Perot '92). I will admit that during the last presidential election (my first) I was apathetic towards the candidates. I voted, but it was not the enthusiastic I really believe in this man kind of vote. My vote was cast in opposition to our fearless leader. As a matter of fact, the first ballot I ever cast was against the recall here in California. My track record of voting breaks down to choosing between a lesser of two evils. This is the first time since the fourth grade that I can say that I am excited about a candidate, that I am excited about an election, that I believe. It's a little odd to have such high hopes for any one these days-- to believe so wholly in a cause.

In a country where cynicism is an appetizer, how does one go about being an idealist? I like to say that I am a realist, but I know that there is this wide-eyed little girl who still wants to believe in a nation that will judge its citizens by the content of one's character. She still wants to believe that good can win over evil and that this nation can become all of the propaganda she was spoon fed from pre-K to the present. Consuming cigarettes and coffee while milling through articles and blogs about the candidates in search malevolent secrets does not suit her. She wants a knight in shining armor, a champion of the people. She wants a leader and she thinks she's found him. She spends her days sifting through the drudge of the American political machine hoping to find someone like Barack Obama: dangerously charming, uniquely global, all-American. I try not to be the idealist she wants me to be, but maybe it is a time for faith.

There are issues on which Mr. Obama and I do not agree. There are always going to be issues on which I and my representatives in government do not agree. I am thinking about the big picture. Issues aside, what do we want in a president? What are the characteristics of the person we want to represent this nation? Does the little idealist inside of you jump up and down waving banners with his/her name or do they sort of give the universal if that's what you want shrug? I say, that in the season of believing in the impossible, vote with your heart. Care who leads us. Pass on the cynicism before breakfast. Believe.