My response to my friend Jim.

Jim,

Here goes my answer to your questions about why Barack Obama is causing so much stir in our country today. I start with the presumption that the vast majority of the people making up the electorate of this country are basically honest, good and hardworking folks. I know there are many who do not fall in this category and they sometimes draw far too much attention from the others who do. I think this majority wants to believe in the basic principles we learned as children that the United States stands for equal opportunity, hope and moral character. Basically, they want to believe we can all live together, work together and unite for a common purpose and enjoy a national sense of pride with a strong moral compass that simply says when something is not right we just don’t do them, regardless of who it benefits or hurts. The runaway partisanship of the last several years has eaten away at this fundamental belief so many hold so dear. I personally blame the 24/7 news proliferation; talk radio and the constant perception of one group being played against the other for political and financial gain as the main culprit.

When gas prices are at $3.25 per gallon and the oil companies are making one hundred and twenty billion dollars ($120,000,000,000.00) per year and still receiving eighteen billion dollars ($18,000,000,000.00) per year in tax credits it just doesn’t feel right. Especially when we constantly read of the over fifty million to one hundred million dollar ($50,000,000.00-$100,000,000.00) salaries the executives are making, the Gulfstreams they fly around in and the lavish life styles they lead. When billions of dollars are drained from several multi-national, but yet domestic companies (re: Enron, MCI, etc), our population is smart enough to know that something is amiss. Sometimes our gut just tells us that something is not right. When we are fighting a war that is costing us billions of dollars a day and over four thousand lives, that we were led into on the basis of facts that were never true we just become even more disillusioned

I also believe that voters in this country are not buying that a simple change in the party controlling the White House will change things much. If that were the case I think Hillary Clinton would be a shoo in. I guess we are collectively thinking that it just time to seek a new wind to guide our ship of state. We’ve probably finally seen the wisdom in the old saying that ‘if you keep on doing the same things there is no need to expect a different result.’

Obama is the only hope for real change the people see. He may not be the best possible man for the job, but he is different. He does have a strange middle name, his preacher did say some crazy things over a thirty year ministry and he is partially black, but he has accomplish a lot of good and positive things in his short career. The voters in his state saw enough good to send him to the Senate. He has participated in crafting some very good bi-partisan legislation, he does enjoy the backing of other people that have proven records as successful leaders and he is different from the politicians of the past if in nothing else but his age.

The voters that are gravitating to him do it with a lot of hope. They are realistic enough to know that he may not be the man. They do know that something has got to change and that we must once again become a united people or we will surely fall. We know he is young, well educated, well spoken, somewhat proven and with an understanding of divisiveness that the normal national politician will usually not have. Maybe he is the one, we can only hope. We just cannot continue to be torn apart, whether it be by race, financial station in life or by party lines.

“United we stand, divided we fall.”

That’s my take on this. I believe it is this huge middle of the road younger voter that is making this decision. I don’t believe it is the voter that calls himself conservative or liberal, Republican or Democrat; I believe it’s the guy who says there has got to be a better way and that voter hopes and prays Obama is the right man.