family & friends. home & homies. i know you're getting a lot of shit about politics, and if one more will make you barf, STOP READING. also, i know that it's presumptuous to talk about a specific candidate as if everyone's automatically on the same page. but with that in mind, i thought i'd share my personal thoughts on the coming 7 weeks, because it feels extremely important.

i feel more strongly about this election than any other i've experienced. i think this is because i am less motivated by voting AGAINST someone i think will have a negative effect on the country and world (as with Bush in 2000 and 2004), than i am by campaigning FOR someone who could have a profound positive effect on our country and world. and the more i see and hear, the more i see that Barack Obama IS that inspiring leader. that rare, positive gem. that big-eared beacon.

i had the good fortune of being able to attend both the DNC in denver, and the RNC in the twin cities. the highlight of this week of travel was hands down hearing Obama's nomination acceptance speech. i've never heard a politician speak so articulately and intelligently about his goals for our country. more importantly, i've never fully-believed a politician's words as much as i did that night. and i'm a cheeseball, but the moment Barack really pulled me in was when he looked at and spoke about his wife, Michelle, and his children. it was plain as day that he is in love, and is motivated by something much deeper than political ambition.

no politician is perfect (i know, understatement), and Barack is not without his shortcomings. however, i feel confident that he has the intelligence (i mean, head of the harvard law review in his 2nd year?), and the intentions to really fight to improve our local and global communities. i believe it's better to have someone relatively fresh in washington to help turn things around. because the last 8 years have sucked.

which brings me to the RNC. i didn't see as much of the republican national convention as i saw of the democratic one, but what i did see was a little sad. lots of older business folk rah-rah-ing, and a few intense younger people who tried to convince me that the last 8 years were a fluke. as if McCain hadn't supported this war that has killed thousands of innocent people and actually made our own country less safe. and then there's all this talk about Palin. and YES, she's hot. and NO, she hasn't said one thing that hints that she could be a competent leader. quite the opposite. look, i would LOVE a woman in the white house. just not this one. (mom, will you run next time?)

i would love to continue this conversation one-to-one with anyone interested, as many of us have been doing. as far as what we can do, this election could really hinge on new voters. 18-21 year olds, and people of all ages who have not been inspired to vote before now. voter registration ends oct. 6th, so here's a good site to pass on to anyone you know in this category: www.VoteForChange.com

there are plenty of ways to volunteer in the next weeks at: http://action.barackobama.com/page/s/volunteer/

and of course, campaigns cost a lot of money and now's the time to give if you have a little extra to contribute. and if the current economy's got you down, think of it as an "investment": https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/standardone?

thanks. i feel really lucky to be in this country at this time, with so many digital friends like you.

jelly d