No time to waste:

A relative of mine asked me what I hoped to gain by an Obama presidency. I gave it a lot of thought. What did I really feel would change for our country through an Obama presidency? Often people say that it really does not mater who occupies the seats of power as things usually stay the same. George Bush has shown that to be false but will the Obama presidency really change anything?

I concluded after much thought that an Obama presidency WILL significantly alter the course of our nation. I believe the very core -- the very essence -- of Senator Obama is different from all others who have occupied or attempted to occupy the most powerful position on planet earth. I am HOPING and believing not only for a change to occur, I am hoping for an about face in the course of our ship of state.

I believe Barack Obama does not have to use, as George Bush and the Republican Party did, the word “compassionate” modifying a word conservative. The Democrat Barack Obama is ABOUT compassion. His party does not need a modifier explaining it as such. I believe compassion sits in the circumference and depth of Barack Obama’s heart because he has known difficulty, he has known disappointment, he has known loneliness and he has known rejection. Barack Obama has risen above the vicissitudes of life to create a movement unparalleled in US history and perhaps unparalleled in the world. The character of the man comes not from privilege or from marrying into great wealth but from appreciating what it feels like to be relegated to the back of the bus. He is an example to all.

I believe Barack Obama is about intellect. He has a LOT of it. He is about reading and searching for truth. He is about using science over ignorance to fight disease and to fight the melting of our planet. I believe he will not simply TALK about reversing global warming, stem cell research or alternative sources of energy he will DO something to create these life saving remedies. I believe in his heart he is about we the people those who gave a lot of money BUT more for those who gave five, ten or even two dollars to his campaign. There are reasons his presence brings so many adoring crowds and his campaign coffers are full.

He will change the course of this nation. I believe he will enact a new foreign policy. He will rely on not bombs, the superficialities of swagger and the bellicosity of war first but understanding, dialogue and negotiation with our adversaries. He will not be afraid to use our nation’s awesome force BUT only as a last resort. He will never relegate our country, its resources and its blood to a preemptive war based on lies with no end in sight.

By redirecting the course of our nation we could use its abundant resources to improve our human condition. Roads could be built, bridges could be repaired, a crumbling infrastructure could be renewed and healthcare, most of all, could be afforded to everyone and not to simply the few who were blessed with either money or good health. Never to have to worry about the onslaughts of disease mixed with the reality of poverty which seals a person’s fate will, I believe, truly be one of his greatest legacies.

I believe he will turn this country around. I believe he will bring hope but more than hope I believe he will bring that hope to reality. He must do that as the time is short and our burden is heavy. I believe by changing the course of our ship of state, Barack Obama can deliver a NEW New Deal and keep our Titanic ship of state from its impending disaster. We have no time to waste.

George Bush's China Syndrome: It is the height of hypocrisy that George Bush is lecturing China on the birthright of freedom. This coming from a man that pushed for anything but in his own country with the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act, signing statements galore, torture and executive orders stripping one of the bedrocks of our republic, habeas corpus. It is utterly ridiculous for him to preach to anyone. While China has a lot of improvement to go incorporating a Bill of Rights and changing its policy toward most especially Tibet and Darfur, China has made ENORMOUS economic and cultural strides in their nation. They are PROgressing not regressing. The US is going backwards -- our economy in the tank, our infrastructure crumbling, our Constitution shredded, quagmired in a war for over five years based on lies for no reason which it cannot end.

The only thing positive taken from the failed presidency of George W. Bush is that presently Barack Obama is ahead in the polls and may win in November. I surely hope so. I am looking forward to a new day in my country I love. It will be a day without George W. Bush or one like him and a day which I hope sees to it that another president with an utterly corrupt agenda and savage bullying soul never crosses the threshold of our beautiful White House again. He never deserved the honor in the first place and has proven that over and over again. Go home from China, George, and take the speck out of your own eye before you criticize the one in anyone else!