Joe Biden

(I would give someone credit for taking this, but I don't know who took it. It's a damn good picture. And you can also watch the speech itself on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_wWVbzefPo )

So, I saw Joe Biden at USF yesterday morning. It was mainly a matter of getting up at 6:30 AM, to get to the Sun Dome at 8 AM or so. (Doors were at 8:30 and Jer and I didn't want to be far back in line.) And... yes, there was a breakfast element involved too. I mean, you can't go out and do something at 8 AM and not have some food in your stomach. McDonald's is a godsend for this. Sweet tea just makes the morning meaningful.

Anyway, Joe Biden was awesome. He was saying some truthful stuff - "dropping truth bombs," as Jeremy called it. I don't like to wax about politics too much - unlike photography and music, it's one subject where I'm not too well-versed - but Joe Biden seems like a smart, down-to-earth man.

To clarify: I've been interested in Obama since the first televised debates back in March or so, but I turned into a full-time backer when I saw his Presidential nomination speech, which was (cliche time) like a re-awakening of sorts, for me.

Let me explain that. I'm going to sit here right now and say that, based on actions and decisions, I have two favorite Presidents. Those would be John Kennedy and Bill Clinton. Regrettably, I wasn't alive for Kennedy's (short) tenure in office, but I was for Clinton's. And, when you get down to it, your liking for a President only relies on one thing: can you trust the guy? Do his actions and thoughts and statements scare you, or comfort you? Do you have faith in your government to make things right, with this man at the helm? I felt that way about Clinton - he made sense. He was sensible. When he said something in television, no matter how frivilous or serious it was, he said it straight, and without judgement. Can you say the same about George W. Bush? Nope - at least, I can't. Sure, it felt good to have a hard-core Texan as President during 9/11 - for the first night. But things felt different a few years later - and that's all I'm going to say about that.

Anyway, back to that spiritual regeneration I had, earlier in this blog: when I saw Obama speak, I was refreshed. For years, I have not liked seeing our current President on screen. It's almost like I'm waiting for him to fuck up somehow, say something that makes me embarrassed to be an American (which a President should never do, I think). But, above all, I was scared of Bush. I didn't trust the guy, even though I'd never met him. He just didn't feel right to me.

But Obama - now, I've heard some speeches in my day. But his nomination speech was amazing. It made me think a lot, a lot of what-ifs: what if we he gets elected? As stupid as it sounds, will our country be great again, like it was when Clinton was President? I hope so. But, above all, Obama seemed like a man that I could trust as President. And so did his running mate, when I saw him on a podium in the same room as I - seemed like a trustworthy man. And amid the economy and the health-care issues, and all that (which are incredibly important matters, don't get me wrong), perhaps that's all that should count. As an American, it's something that we all have to do - put our trust in the persons that we elect into office. It happens every four years. And, to that end, go with who sits right, with your own morals and judgements - for me, that's Obama and Biden.

And, casual chatting aside, that's all I have to say about politics.