from deeply cynical to audaciously hopeful?

So a bunch of my friends went to see Barack Obama speak in Oaklnad this weekend. I, instead, went to a beer festival. I think I chose wisely.

Seriously though, everyone has jumped onboard the Obama bandwagon. I admit, I like the guy alot. The Audacity of Hope is the next book on my "to read" list. Maybe that will put me over the edge.

So why the cynicsm, you ask. Well, a couple of things. First off, I have only gotten to vote in two presidential elections. I'll end the suspense now and say the guy I voted for lost both times. Most of the time when I look at poliitcs, it looks like the system is designed for the sole purpose of keeping certain people and interests in power and in the spotlight. I have to say, of all the casualties that have taken place in during the Bush administration, my loss of trust in the system may be the most personal one.

I guess that leads to my second misgiving; Barack Obama is a politician. Yes, he says the right things. He's inspiring, he seems to be able to unify the nation and he wants the war to end. All of those are good things. Still, politicians are trained to say things people want to hear. He's charismatic. The danger with charismatic people is that they can get by on their charisma without actually following through on promises.

I guess the other thing is the moral that I took from David Kuo's book Tempting Faith. We've put to much faith, hope, trust...whatever in politicians and politics to make the world a better place when in reality, it has been grassroot efforts, churches, community organizations, and inspired individuals that have changed the world. While I don't agree with Kuo's conclusion that Christians should disengage with politics, I do believe that we already have someone to inspire us, someone we can put all of our hopes and trust in. Politicians will always let us down.

With all that said, if the election was today, I would most certainly vote for Obama. And I think I could do so without feeling like I was voting for the lesser of two evils. My hope is that he really is all that he claims to be. I hope that he can lead the nation in a way that is not polarizing. I hope he can lead in a way that is truly bi-partisan. I hope he can continue to inspire people the way that he has pretty much since the Democratic National Convnetion in 2004 where he gave one of the best political speeches I have ever heard. So I support Barack, but I'm not holding my breath.