My Obama Crush

This is going to be a rambler...try to keep up...I hope it's entertaining.

Ok, so now I think I can relate to my mom...in a way that may be weird to you. While she has her undying love for Bill and Hillary Clinton, I, too, have a love for Barack and Michelle Obama.

It all began a few years ago. It wasn't an instant kind of crush-more of a creeping one that hits you all of a sudden. The kind of crush where you feel blindsided, but in all honesty, you kind of saw it coming.

I first heard and saw President Obama on the Oprah Winfrey show a few years ago. She introduced him as the next President (boy, was she some kind of psychic or what?). I wasn't so sure, though. Yes, I thought it would be a pleasant change from W, but I didn't see him as the next president and in all honesty, I hate celebrity endorsements. I especially had problems with Oprah endorsing him. Here were my reasons: After working at Bath and Body Works when the famed Pumpkin Face mask came out and was on her "favorite things" episode...when it was completely sold out for months on end because Oprah said it was AMAZING. She's right, by the way, it IS amazing....It just frustrated me because I'm sure if it had NOT been on her favorite things episode that it probably wouldn't have been sold out all those months and BBW would still be rolling in the dough, even though Queen Oprah hadn't mentioned it. I just hate how once she says something is GREAT and "you've got to have it", that everyone jumps on the bandwagon and follows her like minions. Though, who am I to kid, if I had been on her show where she gave everyone in the audience a car, I would have peed my pants and she would be my new best friend.

I guess, I'm just one of those people who likes to make up their mind for themselves. When I saw him, I watched him speak with Oprah and I was impressed by his demeanor, his eloquence, and his appeal. The way he was so relaxed and seemed at ease. The way he didn't seem to be like most politicians you hear about and didn't seem like he had 80 bazillion skeletons in his closet. He just seemed down to earth.

But I wasn't crushing on him. I honestly didn't really think about him much after that.

Then came the elections. OMG, was I all for Hillary Clinton. A woman in the White House as President?? No way! And a woman I have the utmost respect for?? Can't happen! And on top of that another Democrat in the running who is African American???? Holy crap, this cannot be happening in my life time! Wait. What? Who is that? Is that Barack Obama?? Is that the guy who was on Oprah? Oh geez...How do you choose??? Who cares about all those other guys running! Give me Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, any day! But seriously. How do I choose?

I did, though. I loved Hillary. I thought she'd be a hard as nails commander in chief. I loved her ideas and I loved her sense of humor. And in all honesty, I loved that she was a woman who fought for what she wanted. She put up a fight and she held her head high. But then she lost in the primaries. I was really sad for her...I was just so sure her time had come. BUT, let me say this, that if I had the option of choosing who would beat her, I would have picked Obama in a heart beat. So after my broken heart healed for Hillary, I immediately backed the Democratic Nom. Senator Barack Obama.

As the elections became nastier and nastier, I crossed my fingers that Barack would hold true to the calm demeanor he had shown thus far. What amazed me, was that he did. He was youthful, hip, fist bumps his wife, and while the negative ad campaigns ran rampant, his were actually quite tame in comparison to many of McCain's. While he was being called a terrorist by many McCain supporters, while Palin continued her crazy speeches about how Obama would be bringing terrorists into the White House, Obama stayed cool. So calm under pressure. The debates between Obama and McCain were absolutely amazing. It was almost comical to watch McCain get worked up, call Obama "that guy", and yet there sits Obama with this look on his face like, "Can we really move on from this?". I think that's when I began to have a crush on Obama. The fact that despite the low blows coming from the Republicans, he put on a smile on his face and took the high road.

I think he was the type of politician I've been waiting for. All of this name calling, digging around into the past, getting into the personal lives of our political elite, was getting quite old. I've thought countless times, why can't we just talk about things without it turning into this name calling, pointing fingers, low balling that has become our political system?

Then I finally happened upon his book, The Audacity of Hope. The title alone, says it all. I bought the book this weekend. I'm only one chapter in and just starting on my next, but what I can tell so far is that this man is smart. He's so level headed, it's almost scary. He has written this book and I can hear his voice as I read and I so wish I could spend just 5 minutes in his company and hear more of his views on how to make America what it used to be. It's like you want to throw away the title "Democrat" or "Republican". Can't we just sit down and talk about these matters in civil tones without losing our cool? Can't we sit down and somehow work out a way to see eye to eye or work out a compromise without the right wing or the left wing getting in the way?

And here comes my favorite, as of right now, quote from his book:
Here he is talking about average, every day Americans and their problems and what they are waiting for....
Page 51:
"I imagine they are waiting for a politics with a maturity to balance idealism and realism, to distinguish between what can and cannot be compromised, to admit the possibility that the other side might sometimes have a point. They don't always understand the arguments between right and left, conservative and liberal, but they recognize the difference between dogma and common sense, responsibility and irresponsibility, between those things that last and those that are fleeting.

They are out there waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them".

And with that last paragraph of his first chapter, I almost yelled out a, "Yes!! That is exactly what I'm waiting for! Oh my gosh, if it were that easy!" It was with that single paragraph where I fell in love. It was my "Ah ha!" moment and the very moment where I truly wanted to run to Obama and give him a big hug and say, "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for running for President! Thank you for being so level headed and thank you for your book. You are, for lack of better terms, a genius".

I know I still have a lot left to go in the book...but I will say this, I can hardly wait to have time to read it this evening. I know this is a silly blog and it may anger some people out there and some of you may think I'm an idiot and not know what I'm talking about...and you know, maybe I don't and maybe I don't fully understand politics...but I have a crush and sometimes you gotta send out your love. :)

So, Mr. President, I want to thank you for your contribution to the world thus far and like I've said before, I look forward to seeing what you can do for our country. I know it will probably be an uphill battle for you, but I believe in you, as do so many Americans. I'll be praying for you, your family, and this country.