It was March 2004. Spain dealt with the Madrid bombings by electing a government that would meet the Spanish public’s new taste for vegetarian restaurants, and raise it with a vote for marriage equality. In Wisconsin, meanwhile, we were throwing displeased glances from the gallery onto the State Senate floor, while they were passing the “constitutional” amendment to define marriage as between “one man and one woman,” although I should mention they never specified which one man and which one woman. My hopes at the national level had also been shot, with Wesley Clark waiting until his Madison campaign stop to announce he was endorsing John Kerry and abandoning the presidential bid I’d volunteered for.
Driving through Chicago I heard the radio news: someone named Obama had just stunned the political establishment by winning the Democratic nomination to the United States Senate. I’d heard he was the most progressive of the bunch–and black–both of which bolstered my optimism that the rotting Republican stagnation that had afflicted the Midwest might be hitting bottom. I put him out of my mind until the famous 2004 Democratic Convention keynote speech. As beautiful as it was, all I remember is that he said the word “gay” in a non-pejorative context. I was hooked, and kept paying attention.
Some of my better friends have expressed fear that this guy, like every other politician before him, will be exposed as a “liar.” Or that he doesn’t know how things work, what sort of back-room negotiations go into getting things done. Well, I don’t know Obama, but I sure know his background. He’s not who the establishment wants us to elect. But that doesn’t mean he’s not the best choice to run things.
Below, his sister lets us in on his background. It’s not exactly familiar from watching “liberal” MSNBC.
Here, his University of Chicago Law School colleague hints at how Obama might manage the county.
Tangents for the Chasing
