well guess who's shoes they are

Dick Cheney's?

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Sorry to be bloggy, but I found this really moving. Todd Alcott on why he's voting for Obama:

The rapturous, slack-jawed amazement that Obama followers register when talking about their candidate does not come from only from his physical presence, his charisma or his oratorical skills. We are so moved by Obama because, for the past 30 years, we have been told that up is down, that good is bad, that smart is stupid, that caring is wrong, that the law is irrelevent. And now here comes a candidate that has lived in that world beside us and has seen it for what it is.

Think of that -- living in a world where, for thirty years, you are told that everything you believe to be true is wrong, that every principle you hold dear -- compassion, equality, even simple, garden-variety decency -- is wrong. Now imagine waking from that nightmare, when someone your own age appears and says, in words you've heard inside your head for thirty years but couldn't speak, or spoke but found them landing on deaf ears, or heard mocked in the media and reported to you as the rantings of a lunatic. And this person comes to you, not at a party or on the street, not in an art gallery or museum, but from the platform of a national stage, and says "No, it's not just you, I've been here too, I saw the same things you saw, I saw the same America you saw, and it's not just me either, I've been traveling around this country for years now and it's everyone. There are millions upon millions of us, of all races and colors, and for thirty years we've been told that we don't count, that our ideas, our hopes and dreams, are meaningless, that we simply don't matter. For thirty years we've been told that only rich people matter, for thirty years we've been told that the law is an impediment to power, for thirty years we've been told that morality is for suckers.

[link]

I keep trying to put my own thoughts into words and it comes out in a mess because I'm so sleepy. So I'll stick with Alcott's conclusion:

for the first time, I am able to vote not against someone, but for someone.

Because, yeah, and isn't that sad? I don't think Obama's perfect. But I think he actually wants to be, and do, Good. We disagree on methods, but not on goals. And it's fucking sad how big a deal that is, but that's not his fault.

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Strega, that's exactly the feeling I've been having. And I'm a little scared by it, mainly because I totally expect the thugs in charge currently to find a way to fuck it up and make it not happen. That, or the win will be like Clinton's where I was all "Yay! no more Reagan/Bush" but the reality was considerably less than the promise.

But I'm still more optimistic than I've been in a long, long time. And, yeah, voting FOR someone feels really fucking good!

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Congrats, billytea! I knew right away where that post was leading and it took a tremendous amount of will to avoid just jumping to the end of the post. That has toppled my former roommate's "Guess who's knocked up?" as best announcement ever.

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Letterman is NOT going easy on McCain. Cool. "Do you have a relationship with Gordon Liddy?" Ha!

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Aurelia, how did the rehearsal go tonight?

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Tonight was the 1st preview. It was also the 1st time I saw the whole show. Tomorrow will be a full work day, but now that I've seen the show I have a much better idea of how to proceed. Tomorrow's preview should be pretty good.

I haven't managed any sightseeing at all. I'm hoping that I can at least wander up to Chinatown on a meal break tomorrow.

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congratulations Billytea and Wallybee!

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Congrats, Billytea and Wallybee! And I cannot wait to see what the actual birth announcement will read like.

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Billytea, if you name the kid Joey you'll be missing a grand chance! :-) Congratulations to you and the Wallybee!

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