Fortunately this consideration is simplified; due to actions of prior administrations, the pace of the war, the current financial crisis, and inertia in general, the policies of either a McCain or an Obama administration simply cannot be all that different. So why am I so rabidly pro-Obama? Because with him you still get that well intentioned, level headed, pensive person. I feel like the chances of him pushing for the less over-arching issues that I am a proponent of (such as prosecuting the current administration for torture and wire-tapping) are significantly higher, and because Palin scares the living daylights out of me.

Two of those three are things that conservatives like Mr Allison and I can agree on.

“If we conservatives have any hope of advancing our positions in the culture war, keeping the court right is required.”

Ladies and gentleman, this is exactly (EXACTLY!) why the Republican party is in disarray. Perhaps it’s time to set aside the culture war, and look at how we are as a country. Not as a small piece of the country, not one part of “the culture,” but the country as a whole. What we need to be is… pragmatic.

Ask yourself this: has anything John McCain done in his campaign been thoughtful, pragmatic, or prudent? Where is John McCain’s economic plan that he promised on Saturday? Can the country depend on actions like these?

Yes, Obama is going to have astronomical expectations when he takes office. Is that somehow worse than having low expectations when ascending to the highest office in the land? I certainly hope not. Will be be able to meet those expectations? I hope so; though realistically, I doubt it.

However, I DO trust Obama to take a reasoned, thoughtful, and pragmatic approach to facing the problems he will inherit and the expectations he will doubtlessly have.

I can not say the same for John McCain.

“black:(pigmentation) Clearly the symbolism of the Black varies according to time and place. The Renaissance Venetian and the Virginian planter will have a very different picture from that of a twentieth century Leopold Sedar Senghor. Any comment refers strictly to an historical psychological attribute and to the residue it may have left in the western subconscious.
The salient fact is that all the value judgments must be excluded, leaving the bare bones of the interpretation. In the mental images of an age, the Black is associated with a primitive stage of human development when barbarity was triumphant, but loyalty, too; capricious blood-letting, but kindness as well; in other words, with a state in which opposites existed as a series of sudden changes, not balanced by a uniform state of tension. Jung considered ‘black’ to be the dark side of the personality and one of the first stages to be passed, while ‘white’ was the end to which perfection developed. In this he was in accord with the theories of the alchemists, for whom the ‘Great Work’ originated from ‘blackness’. ‘Black’ would thus mark the initial stage of evolutionary progress or, inversely, the final stage of a regression.”

I guess I could go into white, but there does not appear to be an actual distinction for white pigmentation. I guess its obvious that both colours lie on the ends and the beginnings of the spectrum. The choice for a figure head for this country is obvious when faced with the ideas of how the human mind reacts to symbols. They see what they want in them. Here we have two very powerful ones.

Well, no matter what, there appears to be an opportunity for Great Works to begin. And its time for this country to change. We cannot step backwards.
Evolution or Extinction, America

This said, I think Obama correctly identifies the qualities of Kennedy and Reagan which made them great Presidents. If you read his most recent book, the one with the title provided by Rev. Wright, heh, he clearly understands the importance of Presidents who were able to change the attitude of the country. This is what attracted me to Obama a year or so ago, but as time has gone I’ve come realize although he is a great speaker, he never really says anything. He also seems unable to bring himself to take a clear position, rather he always seems to be trying play it down the middle.

I agree with Mary’s comment. These so called conservatives are wishing Obama to be what they want him to be.

However, to embrace Obama is not the answer. This man’s perception of Obama as a thoughtful pragmatist is a frightening spectacle and to me shows how utterly empty Obama is. He is functioning as a mirror, somehow reflecting the desires and thoughts of way more people than I thought possible.

The device used here is the CHANGE mantra and Obama does not need to make these radical claims himself as these groups just ASSIGN values and positions as they all see fit depending on the changes they want. Just imagine what you want, and Obama fits the bill. He is a master of the wink and the nod, and therefore people do not believe him when he says things that are against what they believe. They think he is “just saying those things” to get elected and that once he is safely in office he will fullfill their secret desires. Even his former church mates, whom he threw under a bus and denounced publically, will all be voting for him and they probably expect that a President Obama will carry out payback for all thier greivances against the USA.

And now I see, to at least some conservatives, he is the new Ronald Reagan. If Obama wins and it is looking more and more like he will, there are either going to be legions of disappointed groups out there or Obama is a supernatural being who can change the perception of reality depending who he is talking to. There are simply no policies that will placate all sides of every issue, and Obama is building up huge expectations. I fear his strategy after the election will be the Third-World strategy (Chavez anyone?) of claiming that “enemies” are stopping him from saving the world and that more power will be needed in the executive branch. The end result may be that all the power that people believe that Bush/Cheney have usurped will be freely given under Obama.

People should ask themselves if they are projecting their own desires onto Obama or if there is actually a substantive rational, basis for their selection.