Yes, We Can.

Originally, I had written a good-sized blog about my philosophy behind why I moved from supporting Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama. But now, after all the dust has settled, it seems a bit late for all that. Basically, it was a slow process that built over time, starting from when Beau and I stood out in the cold for an hour or two to see Obama, to the time, a month later, when I saw Bill Clinton speak (notice Clinton making seductive eye contact with me). Obama was jazzed, Clinton was mad. Obama was fun, but not as awe-inspiring as I thought he'd be. Clinton was a lot more angry and tired-looking than I expected, though he did talk to the crowd very intelligently and gave lots of good, specific facts.

I sway back and forth between worrying that I am being swept up in Obama Idealism, to then getting angry at myself for being such a harsh cynic, and being afraid of feeling hopeful and excited about politics again. And it was pretty neat to see a state like Montana, which normally is basically ignored by candidates (and they do have a valid reason for it), get a little love.

In the end, in early June, I cast my vote for Obama, though I feel a twinge of sadness for Hillary, too. It's been awhile since I had two really good choices for president, and wasn't voting more against Bush than for a fellow Democrat.

I am also going to post again the lovely Will.i.am video which recites Obama's speech from New Hampshire, after he lost to Hillary Clinton there. Enjoy.

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It was a creed written into the founding documents
That declared the destiny of a nation

Yes, we can

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists
As they blazed a trail toward freedom

Yes, we can. Yes, we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores
Pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness

Yes, we can.

It was the call of workers who organized
Women who reached for the ballot
A President who chose the moon as our new frontier
And a King who took us to the mountain top
And pointed the way to the Promised Land

Yes, we can to justice and equality. Yes, we can.

Yes, we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes, we can heal this nation.
Yes, we can repair this world.
Yes, we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long
But always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way
Nothing in the way of the power of millions of voices
Calling for change

We want change, we want change

We have been told we cannot do this
By a chorus of cynics
And they will only grow louder and more dissonant
We have been asked to pause for a reality check
We have been warned against offering the people of this nation
False hope

But in the unlikely story that is America
There has never been anything false about Hope.

The hopes of the little girl who goes to crumbling school in Dillon
Are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of L.A.
We will remember that there is something happening in America
That we are not as divided as our politics suggest
That we are one people
That we are one nation

And together, we will begin the next great chapter
in the American story
With three words that will ring from coast to coast
From sea to shining sea

Yes, we can
Yes, we can
Yes, we can