Seriously

Father wants him circumcised,
mother doesn't, what's a 12
year old boy to do?

Seriously now, could anyone have believed that if an African American ran for President of the United States race would not be a factor? And gender, as well? Obama won a terrific victory in South Carolina, beating Hillary Clinton by a margin of at least 2 to 1. He must be congratulated. And his victory speech was magnificent. Say what you will, he is monumentaly inspiring, and he is certainly right that our country needs some drastic changes. If he becomes President, and if he delivers on his promise, he could easily become one of our greatest Presidents ever. And we desperately need such a person. Now. I am all for him.

But the campaign is not over. And he hasn't won it all yet. I worry that something could go wrong. There are different ways to interpret statistics. For example, we can say that he won 24% of the white vote and that is good (especially as he was said to perhaps win only 10%). But a note of caution: it also means 76% of white people did not vote for him. Could he win a national election with 75% of whites not voting for him? I worry about race in this campaign. It is being said that the voters in South Carolina rejected Bill Clinton's coded and not so coded references to his race (the comparison with Jesse Jackson, for example). But they didn't reject race as a factor. They didn't vote for him irrespective of his race. They voted for him 81% because of his race, or so it would appear. How can we say race was not a factor? And if it was such a factor in South Carolina what might it be in the country as a whole? Not all states have so many black voters. I am not trying to be a wet blanket or a party pooper or whatever, but I will not rest completely comfortably until Obama is actually occupying the White House. As it stands, Obama is our only hope (failing a deadlocked convention and a draft Gore movement).

I am all for Obama. He does, however, say things that I wonder about. For example, he insists there are no liberals or conservatives, no red ad blue states, only Americans and American states. He insists we are all one people, all loyal Americans. Unfortunately, after the past few years, I no longer believe that. There are in fact some disloyal Americans, some ultra-conservative ones, some who obviously do not share Obama's vision of one America, united. They are what used to be the Republican party but have over the past few years developed into a criminal conspiracy that has repeatedly violated our Constitution and laws, as well as International laws. I do not want to let bygones be bygones and reach across the hall to these evil war criminals. I want them held accountable for their murderous and rapacious crimes. I want to know what Obama is going to do about them. I fear the relief from the present administration will be so profound these criminals may simply be allowed to retire in peace, the easy way out, when they should be turned over to the Hague.

I predicted over one year ago that Hillary Clinton would be our next President. I have been wrong about every Presidential race except Bill Clinton for the past sixty years. I sincerely hope I will be wrong about this one. Let us all unite now behind Barack Obama. The well-being of the entire planet may well depend upon this one decision. Let's not blow it for a beer with Hillary.

LKBIQ:
"The very essence of a free government consists in considering offices as public trusts, bestowed for the good of the country, and not for the benefit of an individual or a party."
John C. Calhoun