What we DO know about Obama

From a letter to Salon:

Plus a few more things we know about him that you have omitted. Such as:

1. The level of professionalism and ethics in his campaign is pretty much unprecedented. I heard this straight from the mouth of a former Clinton era foreign ambassador I drove around for an entire day. He also pointed out to me that other campaigns he had been associated with had much more internal conflict internal/external drama. Plus I've read example after example of this strength of professionalism and ethics; not to mention witnessing it in action as the campaign came here to our area and I became a volunteer.

2. His financial management and leadership skills in running this campaign have shown him to be a uniting, effective, and fiscally responsible leader. He has spent .75 on the dollar raised compared to 1.25 on the dollar for Clinton. His campaign staff, whom I have met personally on a local level, are warm, committed, and demonstrate a consistent ethos that shows remarkable problem-solving ability. When mistakes are made or a crisis arises, there is no conflict or finger-pointing, just calm, effective problem-solving skills exhibited. The campaign staff seem to me to have absorbed some essential elements of what an Obama administration would look like--professional, focused, committed, positive, calm, and remarkably effective at accomplishing goals. The harmony in the staff is also very apparent.

3. His career history has been consistently focused on improving the lives of those in need and dedicated to the concept that "we are our brother's/sister's keeper"

4. He has shown tremendous political skill in taking the lead in this primary season over a candidate that was once considered inevitable.

5. He has won the hearts and minds of not only large swaths of the electorate but colleagues in Washington who know him and have worked with him.

Furthermore, what is the deal with belittling and minimizing the import of campaign rhetoric? We demand it from candidates but then say we should ignore it if it is coming from the candidate we do not support. Unless a candidate has clearly shown consistent pandering indicating they never really mean what they say, then rhetoric is important and says a great deal about a candidate. This country is in great need of an inspirational leader who can help heal us after this dark time in our country's history.

Like I read somewhere, if we don't change course drastically in the direction Obama is trying to take us, historians are likely to look back on slow years of American decline and say, "What the h- were they thinking?"
-- unschooler