My mom asked the question, “Why Barack Obama?” I think it’s a good one to answer.

As many of you know who have read this blog for a long time, The West Wing is my favorite show of all time. I am a bit of a political nerd, and the show was a weekly dose of political drama that was done with a level of intelligence, realism, and wit that no other political show has been able to capture. But more than those reasons, I loved the show because it espoused higher ideals. It showed a vision of a president that we all would love to have. Someone who is smart, honest, humble, and moral. I have talked about how much I wish Jed Bartlett was a real person before.

What I see in Obama is much of what I have been looking for in a presidential cadidate since I was a teenager. He is intelligent, charasmatic, honest, and he has a vision of an America that inspires me. Now I know that there are many criticisms of Obama including his lack of experience and a liberal voting record. I agree that he lacks a lot of the experience that most of the other cadidates have, but in my mind that is a positive attribute. My whole life all I have seen is one wealthy and well-connected politician after another run for office. I don’t want another 5 term senator or 3 term governor who plays the same old political games that every other politician does. I like the fact that Obama is a new face among many familiar ones.

Tonight I watched the first two hours of the new season of 24. I’m not a big fan, but my mother-in-law is a die hard. She barely watches television, but she never misses 24. I can understand why people get hooked to the show. It’s very fast paced and they are skilled in building tension throughout an episode. Having said that, I won’t be skipping Heroes any time soon to watch 24. (They share the same time slot on Mondays.)

Let me say that this next paragraph is probably going to give my father a heart attack or at least cause him to stop speaking to me for the near future.

Yesterday we were at Barnes & Noble and I bought the newest book by Barack Obama called “The Audacity of Hope”. I like Barack Obama and I think that he has a vision of what politics in the future could be. Since we’re in Chicago they just had a story on the news that he is going to announce that he is running for president in 2008 a few days from now. I’m only into the second chapter of his book, but I find myself agreeing with much of what he’s saying. I am hoping that he is the first of a long line of politicians on both sides that focus on being a man you would want to vote for instead of just making his opponent someone to vote against. I don’t know who is going to be running for president in 2008. I could be Hillary vs. McCain (I sincerely hope not) or it could be Obama vs. Guliani. It could be two people who aren’t even on the radar yet. I just hope that the next time I cast a vote for a presidential candidate I will not be second guessing myself when I’m walking into the voting booth.