American Dream

When it comes to politicians, I'm as cynical as they come. They're all rich. They're all corrupted by power. All they care about is themselves. And most of the time, even when they're actually trying to do the right thing, they manage, either through misguided policies, or personal failings, to muck it up. Sure, once in awhile, one of them stands out, talks a different talk, walks a different walk, and gets my hopes up. I get excited and I start believing. I start drinking the Kool-Aid. But sooner or later, no matter how high the best leaders may fly, he or she will succumb to one of the seven deadly sins -- usually greed, pride, or lust -- and fall back to earth. Case in point: Gary Hart. Gary Hart was a Democratic Senator from Colorado who ran for President in 1984 and 1988. He was a breed apart, an idealist who was solid on national security issues and ran on a platform of "new ideas," which included a bold economic and social agenda. Back in the 80s, Gary Hart was the man. I bought into him hook, line, and sinker.

Then The National Enquirer published pictures of him on a yacht, cavorting with a 29 year-old model named Donna Rice. They showed her sitting on his lap, her long, shapely legs dangling over his. Both of them were smiling. They looked really happy. Problem was, Gary was married. So, uh, after a laughable attempt to continue with his campaign, he was forced to resign before the New Hampshire primary. The irony was, he'd long been accused of womanizing and he actually dared reporters to follow him around and try and catch him at something. He said they'd be wasting their time. The joke was on him because The Enquirer has lots of time on its hands and loves nothing better than a challenge like this. So follow him they did, and they caught him in the act. And get this: the yacht's name was "Monkey Business." You can't make this shit up. So instead of Gary Hart running against George Bush, Sr. in 1988, we got Michael Dukakis riding in a tank. The rest is history.

So yes, I've been hurt before. I've been burned and now I'm wary. I'm afraid to love again. I can't count how many Gary Harts have passed by since and I've given them nary a glance. Bubba was the most promising one and look what happened to him. The pee pee wants what the pee pee wants. It always seems to get in the way. Whatareyougonnado? Now things have hit rock bottom. People hate politicians with a passion. No one believes a word they say anymore. People hear what they want to hear. Washington has been in gridlock for years. Nothing's getting done. The country's infrastructure is falling apart while we get bought up by Europe and China and hemorrhage money in two wars as oil prices go through the roof. And Congress is about as popular as George Bush, who's despised.

But this is what makes Barack Obama so special. In an age of political cynicism and apathy, he's making people believe. He came out of nowhere, rode the wave of an inspiring DNC speech four years ago to an unlikely political campaign for President, and now, he's achieved an historic nomination. The sheer improbability of his candidacy continues to amaze me. First off, he's black. The last black Presidential candidate to show any semblance of national political success was Jesse Jackson. Jesse Jackson. I think Jesse may have won one or two primaries. Nothing remotely close to this. Seven years removed from 9/11, and we have a Presidential candidate whose last name sounds like "Osama." A man who spent part of his early life as Muslim. A man whose middle name is "Hussein." A man who's been in the Senate less than four years. A man who ran against and defeated a well-organized, well-financed Clinton MACHINE. Improbable doesn't even cover this guy.

How did he do it? How is he doing it? Many people have opined on this far more eloquently than I'm going to. Obviously, he gives a great speech. He knows how to use words. I listened to him tonight, like I have many times before, and this time I paid attention to how he conveyed his words. He doesn't just speak. He tells a story. Actually, in any one speech, he tells many stories. Stories about himself, about Americans he's met, about American history, and about America itself. Stories imbued with powerful rhetoric and supported by a strong voice that is both powerful and inspirational. It's not just the words that he chooses, it's the way he conveys them; it's the logic and passion behind them. Obama makes sense. He has vision. He knows what's wrong with this country and where he wants to take us. He has bold ideas: getting us off of foreign oil, making the environment, energy, and education priorities, reducing lobbyist power, revamping the tax code, fixing our embarrassingly bad health care system, and ending the Iraq War honorably and safely. He doesn't care if people don't think these things can be achieved. He's going to try. What else are Presidents for?

Obama reminds me a lot of Ronald Reagan in both the way he comes across and the way he inspires people. I couldn't stand Reagan, but the aura he carried was undeniably powerful. Obama is similar. It's the combination of his voice, his words, and his delivery. It's a mind-meld. He says what we're thinking and he says it better than we could. He embodies what we want our politicians to be and how we want to see ourselves. It's funny to see Republicans complain of Obama's "cult of personality" and donning mock togas comparing him to Caesar. Talk about sour grapes. They'd kill to have an Obama in their party. What the hell do they think happened with Reagan? The guy was a mediocre President at best -- all ideological flash and very little substance -- and still he's as revered in some circles as President Lincoln. In contrast to Reagan, Obama has ideas that rise above ideology. Whether he'll achieve some or all of them if he wins remains to be seen. Personally, it's going to take more than one man to make these things happen. What matters is he has the drive to try and change this country, and after eight years of detachment, unilateralism, stubbornness, negativity, secrecy, incompetence, and cronyism, we have nowhere to go but up.

Obama's appeal goes deeper than that though. After eight years of Bush and his fucked up policies, most of us feel like the country needs a shower. Obama is so different, in so many ways, that no one saw him coming. If Bush had been anywhere near a decent President, Obama wouldn't have the heightened appeal that he has. What makes him so powerful is that he's proposing something that is the polar opposite of the one-sided, political Machiavellianism of the Bush Administration, which won two elections (one, actually) by a nosehair, yet governed as if it had won two landslides. Obama is talking about working together, crossing party lines to get things done for the good of the country. He's a change agent who has come along at exactly the right time. Just like Kennedy. Just like Reagan. Any other time, if he followed a competent President who hadn't made so many mistakes, he probably doesn't get this far. But we are where we are, and that's how history is made. Clinton begat Bush and Bush will beget Obama.

Forty-five years to the day after Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech, the most unlikely candidate with the most unlikely of names and the most unlikely of backgrounds is on the verge of becoming President of the United States. If MLK were alive, I wonder if he'd be surprised that it took this long, or if he'd just be happy that it happened in his lifetime. Maybe both.