Wakabama

I've been slowly indoctrinating my little boy into politics. A couple of weeks ago, we went to a massive Barack Obama rally in Seattle. The next day, he and I went down to the state caucus. (I caucused for Edwards, but I told him people would be voting for Obama there, too. I didn't tell him much about the process, because he's only 2 1/2, and he probably doesn't even get the idea of voting yet.)

And occasionally, I've seen a picture of Barack Obama in a magazine and pointed it out to him, particularly if it shows Obama with kids. Like this. Or this. (He loves seeing other daddies and other kids.)

At the same time, Oliver has been developing a great sense of the absurd. He takes glee in declaring that his daddy is actually a dolphin, or a camel, or an elephant. Some days he'll call me "mommy" and Mrs. Bluesky "daddy." One time, he called me Santa Claus and started giggling furiously.

Last weekend, he shouted that I was something, but I couldn't quite make it out. I asked him to repeat it.

"Daddy Wakabama!"

I thought for a second.

"Oliver, did you call daddy Barack Obama?"

He nodded, with a huge enormous grin.

I guess I've been called worse.

Shame on Who?

"Since when do Democrats attack one another on universal health care?"

"Ready on Day One"?

From tonight's debate, a question from Univision's Jorge Ramos:

Senator Clinton, yesterday you said -- and I'm quoting -- "one of us is ready to be commander in chief." Are you saying that Senator Obama is not ready and not qualified to be commander in chief?

Apparently she didn't take the bait during the debate, even though she was handed the opportunity on a silver platter. But Hillary Clinton has said on a number of occasions that Obama doesn't have enough experience to serve as President.

On 60 Minutes a few weeks ago, Hillary Clinton said it slightly differently - Barack Obama isn't ready to be president because she hasn't faced the kind of attacks that she has. In essence, she's 'run' for president once already and is able to withstand the expected assault.

"...you know, Senator Obama has never had, I don't think, a single negative ad run against him. He’s never been on the receiving end even in this campaign. It’s been incredibly civil by any modern standards," Clinton said. "Until you have been through this experience, you have no idea what it's like. And he hasn't been. He's never, ever had to face this. And I think that I am much better prepared and ready to, you know, withstand whatever comes my way."

"Are you saying he couldn't handle it?" Couric asked.

"I'm just saying that I've been there and I know how to handle it. And I think that one of the factors the Democrats should take into account as they make their decisions in these upcoming elections is who could be the best nominee to, you know, take us to victory in November," Clinton replied.

So the only person who should run for president is someone who has already run for president. And so the entrenched powers stay in place.

This is also the thing that pisses me off about her whole "ready on day one" approach. She's saying, in essence, that someone who hasn't worked within the White House can't be ready for the job.

This means that the only people who should be running for president are:

• former presidents;
• former vice presidents;
• chiefs of staff;
• spouses of presidents (if they have acted as advisors during their spouse's presidency);
• former top advisors of presidents;
• and maybe some cabinet-level secretaries like Sec'y of State.

In essence, only the people who have already touched the top echelons of power are entitled to run for the presidency.

It's an elitist argument. Moreover, it's the argument of the entrenched power structure. Only those who have already held power could possibly argue that only those in power are qualified to serve.

This is the way that outsiders are kept out of the reins of power. It's time to turn the page. The established players have failed us and think that they're entitled to stay at the top of the power structure simply because they've already been there. To hell with all that.

Barack Obama for President.

Caucasing for Edwards

Now that Washington has had its totally meaningless beauty-contest primary, I guess I should let you know what I did during my state's caucus a couple of weeks ago.

On February 9th, I went down to my caucus location with one goal: to stand up for my man John Edwards.

Our precinct breakdown on the first vote: 24 Obama, 3 Clinton, 1 Edwards (yours truly), and 3 uncommitted.

Final tally: 26 Obama, 1 uncommitted, 1 Edwards, 3 Clinton.

I did my little one-minute speech for Edwards. No one changed their vote, but a couple of people came up afterwards. Edwards had a lot of support in the room, but no one besides me was willing to put it on the line.

Did Edwards get any delegates? Nope. I don't even think they counted caucus votes for Edwards.

Was it worth it? Hell yes. I was a Dean supporter in 2004, but chickened out and supported Kerry because of the whole electability crap. I felt liberated this time by voting for the candidate I really supported. Obama didn't need my vote, and Edwards deserved it.

I still think Edwards was and continues to be the best candidate on the issues, but I'm coming around to believing that Obama is the best candidate for this race, for our nation right now, at this moment in history. We need a genuine uniter, someone who can change the dynamic and the way we're perceived around the world. Obama is the only one who can do it.

"Yes We Can"

Yes We Can

I've never had a lot of fondness for will.i.am or his work with the Black Eyed Peas. But he, and filmmaker Jesse Dylan, have quite possibly made the best political ad in the history of politics.

And it's not actually a political ad. As far as I can tell, there is no intent here to raise money for Barack Obama's campaign. It's a pure tribute to one man's eloquent words and inspiration.

Works for me.

You can see a full-size high quality version of the video, and see a list of performers, at this website.