Hope

I'm copying this post from my facebook Notes. It originally appeared on Jan 4, 2008...

I've had politics placed on my mind by those crazy Iowans. Huckabee and Obama. I guess those are the two that were expected to win, but I'm actually kind of hopeful about those two guys. I like McCain too, but let's stick to the early winners, for now. I went and bought books today by both of these guys ("The Audacity of Hope" by Obama and "From Hope to Higher Ground" by Huckabee). It doesn't take a scholar to notice a common thread, at least in the titles. As I said, they both inspire hopefulness. I've gone back and watched both of these guys' interviews on the Daily Show (please end the strike soon!!!). Huckabee from nearly a year ago and Obama from August of '07. I also listened to an archived episode of my favorite radio show Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (the npr news quiz). They both seem like what I would hope to be were I to be elected to a similar political position. That is, they're seemingly unassuming, sincere, quick on their feet, witty, humble and just seem to "get it." They have a hope for the institution of politics that, in his prolog (that's all I've read so far), Obama says can be seen as naïvity. Maybe they've just hit on what resonates with me, but I would MUCH prefer a naïve candidate to a seasoned (read, "calloused") political veteran.

As in 2000, I believe the country is fractured and needs to be united. The Gore/Bush election was horrible for this country and only fractured us further. I remember when Jeb was counting and re-counting, both candidates admitted that the first issue they'd need to address in their presidency would be a unification effort. I voted for W, but I have been sorely disappointed in any efforts he has made to unify this country. His stubbornness and hubris have done what I thought impossible: driven the right and left even further apart. I think Huckabee and Edwards have both seen this as a major issue that people care about. The former caring more about the "vertical" divide rather than the "horizontal." Edwards's "Two Americas" is a similar concept, I believe. Obama has also addressed this issue, talking about how the VAST majority of Americans are NOT extremely left-winged or right-winged. Most people fall in the middle - so, that viewpoint should be represented. It's encouraging that at least this issue is being discussed by those who want to be the future leaders because I hope for a more United America.

It's exciting right now because I'm entering a politican's target demographic. I have to think they don't aim for the 18-year-olds because statistically, an 18-year-old doesn't vote. But perhaps a 28-year-old is more likely. A major theme of my generation so far is skepticism. Perhaps that's a theme to any youthful generation - I don't know - but it's certainly prevalent in mine. Really the only way to get a skeptic's vote is to acknowlegde, affirm and join in on the skepticism. Once you've done that, you've put yourself on their side, so you're good to go.

Anyways, I guess I just wanted to say that I am hopeful for the immediate future of American political discourse.

One other note: when Jon Stewart asked Obama to comment on the Republican candidates (in August - before Huckabee was a viable, or very well-known, candidate), Obama mentioned ONLY Huckabee by name, calling him "sincere and decent."

A good sign-off:
"Here's to staying above the fray and not having the red/blue divide anymore." - Jon Stewart to Obama


...okay that was the post. Here's the game for today: name the actor (or voice) for the following characters:

Steven Urkel
Hallie Parker
Phoebe Buffay
Austin Powers
George Darling


Once you've done that, tell me what these five have in common (besides having 6 letters in the character's first name).