Letting My Cynicism Go
I have a love-hate relationship with politics. I follow it religiously but refuse to trust a word that comes out of any politician's mouth. I am mostly up to speed on who's in charge, who's running, and what they've done. However, since I don't believe them, I rarely dig deep into their promises because I believe them to be empty.
This US election started off no differently. I paid attention to the primaries but only through reading about the results. If I were able to vote I would be a Democrat. So, I hoped that the Republicans would pick a horrible candidate and that the Democrats would pick a "winner". McCain was definitely not a horrible candidate, far from it. On the Democratic side, the horse race dragged on for too long and I was worried that that would favor the Republicans.
Between Obama and Clinton, I wanted Clinton to win only because I didn't believe Obama's hopeful speeches and I thought that as an "insider" Hillary would be able to push through some of her ideas. Despite this, a part of me wished that Obama would push her as far as he could because the idea of a black Democratic candidate excited me.
When Obama had to repudiate his minister, I decided to watch the speech on YouTube. It was incredible and I was moved, but I pushed it aside. Then, after Obama won, I didn't watch either convention but I listened to his acceptance speech. Again, it was moving and inspiring but by then I had decided that he was just a naive newbie who talked a great game but wouldn't be able to back it up.
At the same time, Old Man McCain was not the same McCain I had read about. He prostituted himself to get votes from his own base and selected what I disrespectfully call The Ornament as his VP pick. He also used the same tactics against Obama that he was subjected to by Bush. Therefore, those facts, compounded with my Democratic leanings, Obama's debate performances, his biography which I learned about, and his smarts pushed me to support him.
Last night, I was glued to my 13-inch TV for the whole evening. I was so happy that Obama won and was really amazed by the fact that the US now had a black President. I never thought that the US would elect a black man and here they proved me wrong! That chipped away at my cynicism. Then, Obama, in his eloquent way, spoke and used the example of a 106 year-old woman to trace the ups and many downs of 20th century America. It was brilliant. He also made sure to temper his supporters' expectations a bit. I decided then and there to give him a chance.
... All this gibberish from someone who followed the Canadian and US elections and will be following the Quebec and Israeli elections, but will not have a say in any of them.
This US election started off no differently. I paid attention to the primaries but only through reading about the results. If I were able to vote I would be a Democrat. So, I hoped that the Republicans would pick a horrible candidate and that the Democrats would pick a "winner". McCain was definitely not a horrible candidate, far from it. On the Democratic side, the horse race dragged on for too long and I was worried that that would favor the Republicans.
Between Obama and Clinton, I wanted Clinton to win only because I didn't believe Obama's hopeful speeches and I thought that as an "insider" Hillary would be able to push through some of her ideas. Despite this, a part of me wished that Obama would push her as far as he could because the idea of a black Democratic candidate excited me.
When Obama had to repudiate his minister, I decided to watch the speech on YouTube. It was incredible and I was moved, but I pushed it aside. Then, after Obama won, I didn't watch either convention but I listened to his acceptance speech. Again, it was moving and inspiring but by then I had decided that he was just a naive newbie who talked a great game but wouldn't be able to back it up.
At the same time, Old Man McCain was not the same McCain I had read about. He prostituted himself to get votes from his own base and selected what I disrespectfully call The Ornament as his VP pick. He also used the same tactics against Obama that he was subjected to by Bush. Therefore, those facts, compounded with my Democratic leanings, Obama's debate performances, his biography which I learned about, and his smarts pushed me to support him.
Last night, I was glued to my 13-inch TV for the whole evening. I was so happy that Obama won and was really amazed by the fact that the US now had a black President. I never thought that the US would elect a black man and here they proved me wrong! That chipped away at my cynicism. Then, Obama, in his eloquent way, spoke and used the example of a 106 year-old woman to trace the ups and many downs of 20th century America. It was brilliant. He also made sure to temper his supporters' expectations a bit. I decided then and there to give him a chance.
... All this gibberish from someone who followed the Canadian and US elections and will be following the Quebec and Israeli elections, but will not have a say in any of them.