Hope

As the political season progresses it seems to me that there is really only one choice for president. And while I'm comfortable with that choice, I also wish that choice didn't feel so inevitable. The choice for president of the United States shouldn't seem so clear.

I am a a fan of romantic comedies. I love even the bad ones. Some day I'm going to sit down and compile my list of the tend greatest romantic-comic films. While it probably won't top the list, An American President will come pretty darn close. Not only are the performances pitch perfect, the script is smart without being condescending, light without being saccharine. And it contains one of the greatest monologues in film history.

Michael Douglas, a widowed president, begins dating Annette Bening. This romance is used as a political weapon by Richard Dreyfus with increasing venom until it reaches the point where Dreyfus makes personal attacks on Bening. That coupled with the backfiring of a political shell game forces Douglas to stand in front of the American public and demonstrate his character. It's the point where he either has to put up or shut up, and in that sixty second speech Douglas embodies not only what the ideal president should be, but what a real man is. I still get tingly thinking about that moment. And it's to Douglas's credit that I give his performance such high praise because I've never -- and still am not -- a Michael Douglas fan.

Of course it's a fictionalized, fairy-tale version of American politics, but the idealism of that moment reconnects, and in fact begins to reclaim the concept of honor.

In an era when both Clinton and McCain are caught in webs of their own political double speak, Obama seems to stand alone as a man of principle and character. He is not afraid to take an unpopular stand when he believes its the right thing to do. His first speech on Reverend Wright and racism does not receive the credit it deserves. Reverend Wright said some hateful, politically damaging things. Yet Obama demonstrated the Christian ethic of hating the sin and loving the sinner. It was only after Wright crossed the line that Obama severed ties. He handled the situation honorably. When there was talk of a gas-tax holiday, Obama rightly, simply, and elegantly opposed it. And when the press began attacking his wife for expressing her sincere point of view -- one that is shared by millions, both black and white -- in no uncertain terms did Obama make it clear that he would not tolerate it. There was no whining. There were no threats through surrogates. There was Obama, standing next to his wife, simply saying that such treatment will not be tolerated.

My admiration for Barak Obama grows daily.

And still I wish there was a credible alternative on the horizon. Not because I'm dissatisfied with Obama, but because our political system should be able to produce more than one person of character. Political character should be more than a marketing image. The world situation is complex enough that the American public should be more challenged to consider different credible views without demonizing the person who holds them.

Yes, I have a crush on Obama, but like high-school football captain, I feel a little guilty because I'm looking around the gym wondering if there isn't a better prom queen. There's nothing to say that I would change my choice, but damn it right now there is no choice!

The New Job...

...is tedious, but fine. The new boss - or bosses - are interesting.

The first boss, I never see. He works from home a lot because he's battling cancer. He's an amazing man and the reason I took the job.

The second boss? Not so much. First, and this is huge, he's a Kellogg graduate, which means he thinks that his MBA entitles him to royal treatment. And which means that I know I'm already biased against him. I kid you not when I say that even though his desk is less than four, unobstructed feet from mine, he knocks on his desk to get my attention. Or the wall if he thinks that will be more effective. The last time he did it, the gay waiter in me came out and I smiled and said, "That's never really going to work as well as saying 'Excuse me.'" Ten minutes later he apologized.

But the final demonstration of his attitude that I'm not worthy was when he offered me the opportunity to make some extra cash by BABYSITTING HIS KIDS! Of course, he did this while I'm sweeping up a mess that someone else made and everyone had simply walked around all day. I have to give him credit. He trumped anything I could have given back, so I simply said, "No."

But, it's relationships like these where my genetic talent for passive/aggressive behavior comes in sooo handily. I don't know -- and, God, don't want to know -- exactly what the problems are, but his marriage seems to be rife with mid-life drama. Little phone spats are inflicted upon my work space every now and then. And after each and every one, I start chirping about all of the fabulous things I can do because I'm single; that I don't have a care in the world except as it relates to me, me, me!

That virutally insures a full half hour of silence while Boss Number 2 contemplates his formulaic, middle-class existence.

Fear

To watch the news is a real test in stamina. Facts are no longer reported, they are presented in a context of hyper-emotion with swirling graphics in hot colors and presented in emotional rhetoric that either is designed to disgust or frighten. This compulsion to frighten is everywhere, to the point that almost daily communication is presented that way. The only thing that seems to be reported is celebrity gossip, and I swear to sweet Jesus that I could not care less if Katie Holmes is being held captive by Scientology or whether she simply got a too-trendy haircut.

Katie Fucking Holmes is presented as news. The presidential election is reduced to a tabloid serial and Halloween 2008. I lost it the other night when Countdown with Keith Olberman showed age-progression pictures of the three leading candidates, depicting how each may look at the end of their first term. I kept expecting Stacy and Clinton from What Not to Wear to pop out and recommend A-line skirts for all of them.

Of course, in many ways the fearful are more easy to control. At least in the short term. The thing that the powers that be and the mainstream media seem to forget is that the fearful sometimes do erratic, unexpected things, like elect a black man as president.

Over the past few weeks I've become more and more convinced that Barak Obama is the best candidate standing for president. I'm willing to weather the difficulties that will result from his lack of experience and I'm willing to accept the inevitable social turmoil that will result with his election, and make no mistake: there will be turmoil.

But there is subtle and not-so-subtle fear mongering going on. What sort of retribution will a black president exact from white America? And the pointing at Reverend Wright is exactly the tool to scare the bejesus out of white, middle America.

The fact is that Wright does speak for a segment of the African-American community. I've heard such comments from black co-workers. It's not a fringe element here in Chicago. And it doesn't take a wild imagination to put yourself in their position to understand why they see America as they do. In fact, there are times where it is a major leap of faith to say that they are wrong.

While I believe that Barak Obama is first and foremost a politician, and by definition a politician is not free of an agenda, I do believe that he just might be the savior figure for the American political system. Many candidates before him have tried to run a clean campaign, and while that's not totally possible when running against a Clinton or a Republican (is there even a difference anymore?) I think Obama is seriously trying to make a difference.

And as scary as a black president might be, one who could actually effect change is more so.