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!