…but …but … he’s black!
the new sheriff is a ******
vaya con dios mother*******
Cite?!?
sorry … but really cite?
I, also, am waiting for a cite. I mean, we have to verify such things, right?
I don’t have a crush or anything, but I’m pretty embarrassed by just how…emotional I can get about Obama. For all my mother’s claims that Republicans are the ones who appeal to our emotions, I feel as though Obama’s tugging my every heart string, and I’m not even one of the rabid supporters!
Case in point: Today I saw a woman wearing a “Yes We Can” button with a picture of Barack and Michelle fist bumping and I got weepy eyed.
WTF? Is it only a matter of time before I declare him my Godking and start sacrificing animals? I sincerely hope it was only PMS making me misty eyed, because that’s idiotic otherwise.
I love that button. I think I wear that one more than any of my other buttons.
I don’t have a favorite button, but this is my favorite t-shirt that I own. Everyone always asks me where I got it. Too bad they’re out of stock, or I’d buy a few more.
I’vve got a small cache of buttons that I use to trade for other unique ones I don’t have. I’ve got something like…oh…27 buttons now. I’m collecting them for my uncle. He collects buttons from presidential campaigns. Someone had the St. Patty’s Day O’Bama button. I tried to trade a few for that one, but alas…
I get new infusions of buttons often. Lots of Chicago folk come in for the weekends.
I’m an Obama fan, but threads like this make me gag. He’s not the black Superman people!
I’m fairly new to the Obama bandwagon. I saw his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention and, like many other people, said to myself, that’s our country’s first black president, right there. It was such a great speech, and blew away everyone else’s. I know that because I watched every single bit of the convention. I even dubbed off 5 videotapes worth of material from the TiVo. I figured he’d go to Washington, get some seasoning and experience, and I’d see him running in maybe 2012, or more likely 2016.
I paid very little attention to the primarys, because I assumed Hillary had the nomination in the bag (I am not a Hillary fan). When Obama’s name kept popping up it was almost exasperating. I didn’t take either one of them seriously as a candidate and kept hoping Gore would pop in and save the Democratic ticket. My dream ticket was Gore/Clark (Wesley). Pipe dream there.
When it turned out to be Obama I was actually pissed off at him, especially when McCain became the Republican nominee, and MOST especially when I heard that this was going to be Obama’s only shot at the White House. McCain was obviously going to crush Obama, rightly so (I thought at the time) and now he says he’s never going to try again? Ever? Fuck you Mr. Obama! You just flushed your chance to make history down the drain? Why say something like that? Either you have have to have integrity and stick with what you said, or change your mind in the future and look like a wishy-washy flip-flopper.
So, I spent a lot of time being disgusted with him, and not paying any, any attention at all, to politics. Unlike in 2004, I didn’t watch a second of the Democratic convention by choice. It was on the TV when I walked into a restaurant, and I turned around and walked right back out. Michelle was speaking. I’d forgotten it was even happening. I didn’t want to hear all this crap about hope and change. He was going to lose and nothing would change and what the hell was there to be hopeful about? I couldn’t even look forward to being an enthusiastic part of his almost certainly successful campaign in 4, 8 or 12 years. It was just all too depressing.
Then McCain picked Palin. Until then, I was going to be ok with a McCain win. I don’t like him, hadn’t liked him since he embraced Bush, but no way could he be as bad as Bush. When he picked a woman I thought, oh, that’s interesting. I thought it was pandering to the Hillary vote, but whatever. It’s still historical. Good for him, I guess.
Then I learned more about Palin. The more I learned the more appalled I became. The more appalled I became, the more depressed I became that Obama would lose.
Then the post-convention poll numbers started dropping, and more and more about Palin was being uncovered, and Obama’s numbers were rising and I began to have a glimmer of a clue that maybe, just maybe, there was actually going to be a race. I said, and still say (though with only a fraction of the conviction I once had) that poll numbers couldn’t be trusted. I said, and still say (though with much less fear) that the bastards stole the elections in 2000 and 2004, and they were just going to do it again. I told myself a lot of things to avoid getting excited, because my depression level in 2004 was dangerously high after Kerry lost. I was VERY VERY passionate about that election and was certain, 100% CERTAIN, that Americans would do the right thing. They didn’t. Sure, I think it was stolen, but if enough people had voted for Kerry, the numbers that carried Bush wouldn’t have mattered (I feel the same about Gore in 2000). When my hard-core Republican dad called me the day after election day to gloat about Bush’s 2nd term, I thought, that’s it. I can’t get passionate again. I can’t take it, emotionally or psychologically. It’s too much to bear. I have a history of depression, and that defeat made me teeter on the brink. Never again. Whatever will happen will happen. We have to hit rock bottom as a country before people will actually pay attention to what’s going on.
So, with all that, I knew I didn’t need the massive trigger I knew would get set off if I got my hopes up, if I actually got excited, if I actually got passionate, and then Obama lost. I didn’t think I could take it.
Well, thanks to the McCain Trainwreck Express of the last few weeks, my hopes have been rising, I am getting excited, and I’m very much on the verge of being passionate. I’m keeping up with politics now. I’m reading blogs and papers and message boards. Every day is like Christmas, bringing new and wonderful stories and numbers and endorsements.
But, I started realizing that I didn’t want to just vote for Obama just because he was NotMcCain. I wanted to know where the fervor I was seeing came from. Even though I would vote for Obama no matter what, I thought, I really need to start getting to know the man, and so I did. Going from not seeing a second of his speeches since 2004 to watching them. Reading, reading, reading. Thinking. Realizing just how smart he is. Just how decent he is. Just how caring he is. A wonderful man, husband, father, son. Fiercely intelligent! Curious, knowledgable, willing to listen and willing to learn. Oh my god how we need all that now.
And so now, here I am, nearly as big a fan as you just in the space of a few short weeks.
So, I guess I’m a fairweather fan, but I honestly do admire and now even envy those who’ve been with him for the last year/couple of years, closely watched his rise and helped him get to this point today. Many many many kudos to you believers. Deep bow, hat off You are special people and he couldn’t have done it without you.
Since I just recently “woke up” to Obama, I made a video using a song I really love, because the lyrics are so appropriate to me right now.
Obama/Biden '08!
Oh yeah? Have you ever seen Obama and black Superman in the same place at the same time?
Check. Mate. Kif, play my victory march!
Put down the Kool-Aid and back away
He’s still the black Batman though, right? I mean, he’s always prepared.
Is this a whoosh or are you all serious? I got a jokey vibe from the OP, but the rest of you, I dunno…
Obama’s just a politician. I guess he’s young and charismatic, but don’t crush on him. Jesus.
You just stole 14 minutes of my life. Thank you! 
Great video
I love. The way. He Talks. It’s so. William Shatnerish. In a. Good Way.
I don’t have a crush on him, but I do hope and pray that he will live up to my expectations, the ones that have him not in corporate pockets, the ones that have him remembering what it’s like to be poor.
Then I remind myself of what my mother once said. “All men have feet of clay.” And that keeps my hopes in the realistic area. That’s good enough.
Perhaps not. Perhaps there is an age where to express it on a bb is a bit much. YMMV.
The last bit about the political stance reassured me. thanks.
My looking askance at crushes on Obama has to do with unrealistic expectations on the part of the crusher. He’s one man. He’s got a lot of talent, charisma and intelligence. But I worry that people will expect too much of him and the backlash when he can’t deliver would be immense. A more measured, tempered support is needed. Just my 2 cents.
Then again, I know 2 women who contend that George W Bush is hot. They have normal eyesight and seem mentally stable, so I can only assume that this sort of thing is more common than I thought.
Equipoise, you rock. That video was beautiful. Mind if I share it on the Obama blogs?
If you’re just getting to know Barack, perhaps you haven’t seen the Yes We Can video? The lyrics were taken from his speech, following his loss in the New Hampshire primary. Read it here. Watch it here.
Welcome to the club!
Ooooh yeah - sweep that floor, baby!
I don’t think we’re all just crushing on him cuz he’s the “black superman” - there’s some substance behind all that. Otherwise we’d all be wishing Will Smith or Brad Pitt would run for president. Nonsense!
I like Barack because he’s intelligent, caring and a good speaker. I like to listen to him talk about America as much as I like to hear Shelby Foote talk about the Civil War and Buck O’Neil talk about baseball.
And to top it all off, he’s sooooooooo good looking. So I can crush on him!
I think Tina Fey is hawt. I think she looks a LOT like Sarah Palin. But Sarah Palin turns me off completely…(well that and I don’t dig chicks, but I can still find chicks hot, right?)
He’s okay and certainly better than his opponent (in every possible way, in my mind). I think what has a lot of people, especially younger voters, going about him is that his very presence is an indicator of some sort of change - he’s not a rich white old guy.
Also, good god were his children adorable at the DNC. And I don’t even like kids!
God can you just imagine the delicious taste of his taint?