Oregon for Obama

Obama at Waterfront Park, May 19, 2008

Yesterday Barack Obama was in town. He held a rally at Waterfront Park and drew an eye-popping 70,000 people! This was the largest crowd Obama had yet drawn during his presidential campaign.

I happened to drive by Waterfront Park with my friends, Andre and Vicky Danielson, after a hike up to Council Crest, and we saw the long line of people waiting to get through security. It was an impressive sight, to be sure.

I've heard that there is a possibility that the Oregon primary may provide Obama with enough delegates to go "over the top" and clinch him the nomination. Well, we'll see.

It's hard (for me, anyway) to resist the excitement and enthusiasm of all those people putting their hopes and faith in this handsome, charismatic man with his message of hope. Don't get me wrong, Obama has disappointed me with some of his concessions to shrill right-wingers, with his lack of imagination regarding Palestine, with his denunciation of Reverend Jeremiah Wright. But still, Obama is the best hope we've got.

I believe he offers the best chance for bringing this country together, for healing the partisan divide that was exploited by the Karl Rove machine for political gain, for convincing the American public that sacrifice and change is needed if we are to avoid disaster. You won't get that kind of straight talk from the rage-driven John McCain.

If current trends hold, the old, corrupt Republican modus operandi will be swept away in a cleansing electoral fire. I believe Barack Obama can help mold and shape the new paradigm in a way that benefits us all: not just progressives, not just Democrats, not just Americans, but everyone.

Obama for President!