Barack Still Ba-ROCKS!

There may not be a perfect presidential candidate out there but I'm still of the opinion that Barack Obama comes pretty damn close. I've been purposely laid back in the last few months, trying to force my mind open regarding the slate of Democratic candidates but I've done my due diligence now and I'm ready to bring it home.

Politics is a dirty, dirty business and I'm pleased that Obama has resisted becoming more dirty than he absolutely needs to be. He took a lot of shit for not hammering on Hillary more but he got some swings in when he needed to and he didn't sound like a lame-ass, transparent, sound-bite posturing politician when he did it -- I liked that. His debate performances were much less stunning than I expected but, on the other hand, there's a believability about him... it's as if he hangs back and says the things he means instead of prattling on just to have something to say. He's also been getting a lot of flack for poor attendance in the Senate this year. Can't say I'm all too pleased about that since he's my Senator but I can't say it's really his fault, either. The way our primaries are rigged and the way the money flows there's just no other way to run a serious campaign.

I'm also pleased that Obama hasn't pandered to the base on Iraq, or on any issue actually. There's been a few missteps, perhaps... I suppose he shouldn't have actually SAID ALOUD that he'd go after the Taliban in Pakistan with or without Musharraf's permission. Then there was that whole homophobic preacher thing that pissed off the LBGT community but good. And, lest we forget, he was caught by Faux News with a bare lapel (full frontal flaglessness!). My only complaint is that, while he's been busily churning out wonky policy papers on his website, he hasn't been doing more of what he needs to do to beat Hillary... which is to say big, splashy appearances. Ok, so normally I don't like politicians who act like politicians but in this case I think he needs the exposure in order to counter Hillary's household name. Democratic sheeple are still sheeple.

Surprisingly, I dislike the idea of Hillary as president less than I thought I would. I am still appalled by the idea of alternating Bush - Clinton dynasties. I still don't find her personally appealing (she is not someone I'd want to have a beer with, if it mattered). I also think occasionally she sounds more like a Republican than some of the Republicans out there. But I'm telling you, she is one cold, cunning woman. A more enlightened version of Cheney, perhaps. I would be more than comfortable pitting the likes of her against Putin or Ahmadinejad. This may sound like I'm reading out of the media's "Conventional Wisdom on Hillary" handbook but for once I think the media has it about right.

So anyhow... I've got two Obama activities pending. The first is actual door to door work in Dubuque, Iowa, on the 17th (Iowa being kind of make-or-break by most estimates) and the second is phone work from the headquarters here in town on the 27th. If any of my lurking friends are interested in joining, please let me know.