Yes we can

My friends, Super Tuesday is upon us, and its quite possible that we'll know who our presidential candidates are by Wednesday. I have been following this race with great interest. I must admit, I was very excited to see some barriers being broken...we saw our first legitimatize Latino candidate, and our first real Mormon Candidate (although, sadly, he turned out to be a douchebag. Still exciting symbolically for me). These two men, along with Hillary, are certainly important for historic reasons, and for symbolic representation for a lot of Americas, but I think they're being overshadowed, and rightfully so, by something much bigger.

Our cynicism is being broken down. In 2008, we might not have to hold our noses, and vote for the lesser of two evils. For the first time in recent political history, we're being dared to actually believe in somebody, and much more importantly, to believe in something.

Remember the last time you had your heart totally broken? You probably felt pretty vulnerable afterwards...you didn't want to trust, to love, to be tied to something right away, because you just couldn't handle being burned like that again. I feel like we've had that relationship with our government. We may have become apathetic, unplugged, disinterested...or worse, we keep up with it, but we've become so jaded, we can't change. I believe Obama is our antidote for our ailment.

I'm a political guy. I know a lot of politicians, and I support a lot of politicians....but none like Obama. I loved Bill Richardson because I loved his resume. I love Harry Reid because he showed thats its okay to be a Mormon, and a Liberal. I love lots of other guys you haven't heard of for nerdy, policy-wonkish reasons. Obama is different...he's become an inspiration of a whole movement. He isn't just an efficient, smart cog in the system, he could actually change that system.

Our nation is on the wrong track. We're stuck in a stupid, expensive war in Iraq. Our international standing, and our ability to project soft power is at its weakest point in recent memory. We're locked in a bitter immigration argument, that is fueled more by fears of a changing culture and barely concealable racism than by policy concerns. Our friends don't have health insurance, or they can't afford college. We're in trouble.

Can Obama wave a magic wand, and make all those things go away? No, at least, not all at once. They're big problems, and they're going to take sacrifice, hard work, and time, and most of all, real leadership. That leadership must come from everywhere...from our cities, from our families, and from us. It must also come from our president, and I believe that Obama is that man.

Can we do it? Can we have a real dialog about immigration, that not only fixes our boarders, but doesn't destroy our American brotherhood? Can we find a solution for Iraq? Can we restore our nation to its rightful place, and build a better world for our parents, ourselves, and our children?

Yes we can, or as my family might say, Si nos podemos.

We're grown ups now. Lets not lose our historic opportunity to change the world.