Obama.

I thought I should clarify the whole thing with Obama.

I'm in no way opposed to his like, existence or anything. And when put up against John McCain, I'm really glad he's the president.

Working with a mostly Black staff at a historically Black agency with mostly Black kids in my program, the whole thing is exciting. People are standing tall and paying attention to politics now. One of my kids asked, "do they always broadcast the inaugurations?" It shocked me. People are now watching because the president is someone they can relate to in some way. This is positive.

However, it's only a small step. It totally sucks that people feel good about themselves because of who the president is and because they "had a part" in electing him. I voted for Obama. I feel no connection to him. As a politician, he needs to be watched. He got elected making some big claims that will be very difficult (actually, impossible) to back up all the way. I fear that he's going to be let off the hook when he does stupid things because he's 1: Not Bush, and 2: The first Black president. Neither of those are legitimate reasons to let him off the hook. Keep your eyes on him and see how he bends things his way to make his claims fit.

Like I said. It's a positive thing. But it's completely contextual. He still speaks in a way that values "american" lives over "non-american" lives, and that totally sucks. It's an american context, not an entirely human context.

Baby steps.