They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.
--Andy Warhol--
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
--Norman Vincent Peale--
It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not.
--James Gordon--
Barack Obama became the first African-American politician to actually have a chance to win his party’s nomination for the President of the United States by winning, in convincing fashion, the Iowa Caucus a few days ago. All the political experts on television stated that he is the embodiment of hope. They stated that he has created the hope and change movement, so he is a force to be reckoned with in 2008. I agree. I have bought the promise, but I must in good conscience state here and now that for the sake of the country, for the sake of our community, and for the sake of hope – Barack if you are elected please deliver!!!
Barack Obama is not the candidate of change in politics in the future. He has already changed much of the landscape of politics in this presidential cycle. He has already exposed the game for what it is. It is what is. I have ranted on this blog for months about how good people are muted by the political moves of well trained, well funded, deeply rooted political machines that exists for the sole purpose of getting politicians of their choice elected. Politics is about everything but issues. Politics is about delivering things for everyone but the people. It is not and has not been for a very long time about delivering good governance for the people. I know that sounds overly negative and cynical, but it is true. I still believe that can change once we start to look at issues instead of images.
I have constantly preached about how we as a community should vote solely based on issues instead of on just how much we personally like the candidate. I still stand by my position. Yes. Barack Obama has never been elected to an executive office. Yes. Barack Obama has only been a Senator for about three years. Yes. Upon inspection Barack Obama’s record in state office does not necessary reveal him to be a maverick that has changed the landscape of politics in a city that desperately needs it. But, Barack is a very smart person that understands that what he promises he must deliver. He also has the experience of cracking the machine ceiling to break through into the United States Senate so he knows how to deal with dirtier politics-- keep your hands clean. And he is not bad on the issues either.
Barack also knows that the best candidate and the best public official do not always win. He has experienced that already. He has broken open for our community to see plain as day how politicians routinely give their endorsements away solely based on political convenience instead of philosophical integrity. That is why many of the members of the Black Congressional Caucus endorsed Hillary Clinton before the Iowa Caucus. That is why scores of African-American state politicians in South Carolina jumped on the Hillary Clinton band wagon months ago when she looked like a lock for the nomination. That is why several African-American politicians in Chicago gathered under the cloak of anonymity at the Ballroom on Martin Luther King Drive in Bronzeville on the Southside of Chicago several months ago to pledge their support for Hillary Clinton. It was not about any issues. It was not about any differences in policy between Obama and Clinton. It was about picking up their thirty pieces of silver.
Well, now that the race is wide open and Obama has demonstrated that he can win, the calculations have changed. Will all those African-American politicians jump ship and beg Obama for forgiveness or will change come on the local level as well as nationally? I guess only time will tell. I hope Obama continues to captivate the hearts, hopes, and dreams of the country and march right into the White House. And I hope that he starts to deliver real change from the moment he finishes his giving his oath of office until the moment that he hands over the keys to the new occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. And I hope that change does not stop there and that it flows from Washington, D.C. into our hearts and minds so that we can change our way of choosing politicians.
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