At first, I thought about what would possibly be the legacy of ‘W’:  a useless war, a failed economy, a botched response to our nations worst natural disaster, et al.  But, while those things hold true, I think that there’s a side to his legacy that many are missing, myself included who, until this morning, really didn’t give it much thought.  In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think that above all, we should be thanking George W. Bush… for it was him who delivered unto us our next President, Barack Obama.

Go with me on this:  if ‘W’ wasn’t so bad.  If he was just an OK President. If we weren’t in such bad financial shape or mired in a land war that we cannot safely get out of, would the country have rallied around Barack Obama?  Had our response to the attacks of September 11th been reasonable and limited to going after the perpetrators or Bush cut short his vacation and flown right to New Orleans to oversee the recovery personally, would the American public be clamoring for change?

I think that, when it comes down to it, George W. Bush was the catalyst.  He’s the spark that this country needed to move forward.  He gave people the ability to look beyond their petty differences and say to themselves, we need someone smart and capable, regardless of their heritage.  I really think that if George W. Bush had been the slightest bit of a good President, someone else would be standing in front of the Capitol Building being sworn in tomorrow and I’m willing to bet, dollars to doughnuts, that it wouldn’t have been a guy with the middle name of Hussein. 

So from me, and all of the other Barack Obama supporters, thank you George.  We couldn’t have done it without you.

What really caught my eye was a comment left on the article by one of it’s reader.  I’ve always thought of Obama as a smart, well spoken, hopeful and energetic person, but he’s so much more than that.  He, as this commenter so eloquently put it, is an embodiment of the American Dream and an inspiration to us all.

Barack Obama is an inspiration to my family and everyone else. Barack Obama’s story is the quintessential American story – born to black immigrant Muslim father, white atheist mom – yet he found Christianity ( I’m not religious, but I still find this commendable in America ), bi-racial, single mom, raised by grandparents – yet, inspite of these odds, he achieved something wonderful, not by quota system or depriving others, but by pulling himself up. There are 2 ways to present yourself to the American people – pull yourself up through extolling your virtues ( Obama style ) or put the other person down as you have nothing to offer ( McCain/Palin style ). Obama has run the cleanest campaign to date and he is an inspiration to all. 
We’re immigrants too ( from India ) and find him fascinating. I feel Barack Obama is America. 

Hence, we will all be firmly behind him as he takes America back to those soaring heights.  

Tuesday’s the day when you can make a difference.  It’s up to you. 

Go Obama!

Hands down, Obama won.  Even looking at it through the eyes of someone who is not a Barack supporter, there’s no denying that he looked more poised, more in control, and gave more specific details of his plan of action.  McSame, on the other hand, looked flustered and grumpy.  He spoke in mass generalities (just like Palin, what a shocker) and made absurd statements  like, “…fixing Social Security is easy.”  Oh, I see John, you’ve just been waiting for the right time to do it.  Twenty-six years in Congress and you just never got around to it.  Nice work.

After last night’s debate, and along with everything that’s happened in the last few weeks, anyone who can look at McSame and still think he’s the best man for the job is certifiably insane (or a racist).  Which actually brings up an interesting point:  I can actually understand someone not voting for Obama because he’s black better than I can not voting for him because they think McSame is better.   That’s sad.

“The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.”

“As a point of comparison, neither of the last two Democratic nominees –John F. Kerry in 2004 or Al Gore in 2000 — recorded support above 50 percent in a pre-election poll by the Post and ABC News.”

And this about Palin:

“…reaction to Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain’s running mate, has cooled somewhat. Overall, her unfavorable rating has gone up by 10 points in the past two weeks, from 28 percent to 38 percent.”

Even more importantly:

“Independents, key swing voters, now break for Obama, 53 percent to 39 percent, reversing a small lead for McCain after the Republican convention.”

Finally, the crux of what this election is going to be about because guess what, it ain’t getting any better:

“In the new poll, voters once again gave Obama higher marks than McCain when it comes to dealing with the economy, 53 percent to 39 percent. Two weeks ago, Obama’s edge on the question was a narrow five points, his lowest of the campaign. Among independents, Obama’s advantage on the economy — now 21 points — is greater than at any point in the campaign.”