Amid all the sound and fury, sometimes it’s helpful to go back and watch video of his speeches or just walking around meeting people…like the ‘Race Speech.’ And when you watch the man, you do get a sense that he’s ready.

This video does cause me to take pause for a moment. True, Obama has inspired something in me, and many other people who before now were hopelessly jaded with politics. There is something in his “way” that makes me believe that maybe he is genuine. But I’ve also never seen a politician in my life that didn’t lie repeatedly and break many if not most of their promises. Something disturbs me about everyone’s willingness to make Obama into our savior. Are we transferring our own responsibility to him? Are we hoping he personally will turn everything around? Highly unlikely. The other possibility is that none of us are willing to admit that the situation is so very dire that it doesn’t take much to give us some optimism (much better word than “hope,” IMHO). In that case it is a very good thing that Obama has come into the spotlight. The danger I see lies in us forgetting that we are collectively in BIG trouble, whether of not Obama wins, and that we all need to bust our ass like never before if we hope to survive.

Great point, particularly on “HOPE,” which in the Buddhist tradition is considered the co-dependent partner to “FEAR.” No hope, no fear!

That said, there’s nothing wrong with supporting Obama (or McCain) with all you got if you have self-respect…if it’s non-theistic. Obama may not be able to “save” us, but that doesn’t mean, practically-speaking, that we don’t need a leader.

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