oh, hell yes. i must admit that i harbor a fellow halfbreed's affinity with obama. i know in my bones that there are things i have felt that he has felt. that whole one foot in each world thing. that uncomfortability of place and people. some of that i'm sure is taken by the remaining vestiges of the "one drop rule" so carefully promulgated by our southern neighbors.
but, hope. yeah. hope. fleeting moments of pure ass hope. sometimes it takes a bit longer before i anticipate the crack of a rifle or whip. somedays. i was just watching my local news and they led with this story. from KYMA Yuma. . .
A former Yuma County Supervisor says he found a noose hanging from his mailbox this morning.
Ray Moore is African-American.
it's an hour and half drive from me, but, yeah, that's the country we live in. i can't ever forget that.
still. i. hope.
my first exposure to the "dap" came in vietnam. it moved far beyond race there. it became an expression of unit identity and solidarity. some of them were intricate and involved. the only way to know was to be one. that was the point.
the best thing i saw was the look on michelle obama's face right before she raised her fist. approval, triumph, satisfaction, love, and yes, that hope.
i was with your mom LM, i was not prepared for this "in my lifetime." damn it feels good.
it feels good enough that i will continue to hope.
I have been waiting for this piece LM, knew it would be a great one. and it was.
I too never thought I would see it... and I too am thriving in this new world of hope.
This contest won't really be Obama vs. McCain.
It'll be Obama vs. the GOP/M$M Mighty Wurlitzer.
The hotshot rookie QB vs. the meanest defense in the league.
It'll turn on how good the rookie's offensive line is.
LM- The Big Guy is no doubt very proud of you. Thank you.
US Blues is correct.
thank you LM.
the thing with feathers flies again.
It ain't just The Big Fella that's proud...
Go for what you know LoLo! In our lifetime Mom!!!!
Seriously.
That was the most beautiful thing I've read about my candidate. Ever.
I admit it. I actually feel hope. Hope that we can, indeed, make the world just and good and kind. Stupid, eh? But . . . I can't help but feel it.
Masterful wordsmithing, your honor. Hat tip to you.
Lol. I'll call you crazed-- but only cuz that was a lot of typing.
^_^
Good to hear you're inspired.
Not to piss on the parade, because I think we all deserve to take a breathe. But, this is far from over and much work needs to be done. We need to untie the party and get every last Democrat out to vote. We need to open our arms and welcome independents and even Republicans into the fold. There are some we can just turn away from... so long as we can't trick the stupid bastards into voting Democratic... but we need to make sure every last vote is squeezed out of the electorate.
Nice piece LM and very heartfelt by the nation... "not in my lifetime..." but there is much work to do.
Bravo, LM. Weeping here.
Now go take a dental health vacation. We're good.
Dap.
Hope. Yes, I still have it too. Beautiful LM, thanks.
outstanding posts. thank you for sharing them. you really captured the moment. i especially enjoyed the part about all the behind the scenes intel from your friend. very illuminating to see that side of things.
Dang! As I wrote to Somerby, I was very leery of the Obama candidacy primarily because of the nice words from George Will, Krautheimer, et al., from the far right wing, because, as I saw it, they wanted a Denocratic candidate they could possibly beat via the ol' Southern Stragety. I hope to the gawds they are wrong these days.
>Buchanan Purple
heh, indeed....
thank you for making me weep.
Michelle Malkin on Fox Noise, check out the caption...
http://www.oliverwillis.com/inde...ne-with-it-
okay
LM,
You have done us proud.
But more importantly, Steve is looking on with great pride.
DAP!
Because that is how we all feel. Wow.
And now on to November.
Whoops, it's Jesse W taking the dental health vacation.
My bad.
Still. Dap. For the rest of your life.
LM, we is white as ghosts and I'm 55, she's 62.
We been doin 'The DAB' for a decade.
We think it's kewl. And slappin 5 is SO old school, and it HURTS! *G*
The Dab Rocks. Always Has.
Sorry, we ghosts LIKE it!!! *G*
I wouldn't go to that Burrough no mo either.
Bastards. Even the babies are raht bastids.
Joke them if they can't take a fuck.
There's a nation to change and save.
Glad yer on the same side I am.
*G*
Ronzoni: IF Obama loses--and he looks like the favorite right now--I don't think it will be race that sinks him. It'll be because the Mighty Wurlitzer succeeds in making him look crooked [Rezko, Chicago in general] and/or too radical [Ayers & Dohrn, Wright, Farrakhan] and/or too "weak" on national security.
If Obama can keep the focus on the economy, he can win. If the GOP manages to turn it into a national security and/or identity politics election, he's got trouble.
LM, I posted that I'm very happy to have lived long enough to see Obama get the nomination. I think it's time, and I said that Tuesday night that, for me, the 21st Century in America has finally started.
A million voters have Obama's back. And he's specifically hiring people to find and counter internet-based swiftboaters, what Bruce Sterling calls "centipedes".
Mr. Lee, call your exterminator! Those two-footers are especially prized for the Black Meat!
I agree entirely with the wave analogy, I just see things a bit differently now.
I think that up until last Tuesday, Obama's goal wasn't to be president. Sure. That would be great and all that. But that was a secondary goal.
What he wanted to do, was to change the way politics was done, win or lose. And on that he was successful. He wasn't afraid of losing, and that's why he won.
Now is a slightly different story, which may make things a bit tougher. As he has said, now there is no other option but to win.
But at the end of the day, Barack Obama is a political MythBuster, creating a huge explosion just to see how it'll play out. His movement is the gunpowder, bringing people into being active and aware in their politics. That could play out any number of ways, good or even bad.
I don't think you can take that out of him. That's just who the guy is, that's his roots, he gets people involved.
But the big boom should be very interesting. But I remain convinced, that at least in the beginning Obama was in it more for the boom than thinking he could actually win. And you know something else?
That makes him a very good candidate
LM: You won't believe this, but as I, a middle-aged white woman who everyone thought should be supporting Hillary Clinton, sat there watching this same speech with tears rolling down my cheeks, knowing I'd be worthless at work the next day but not caring because this was Capital-H History being made in a way a Hillary nomination could never be, one of the things I thought was "I CAN'T WAIT TO READ WHAT LOWER MANHATTANITE WRITES ABOUT THIS."
And as always, you do not disappoint.
Count me as another who didn't expect this in their lifetime. I have to admit I still get nervous and have to clutch the nearest pillow when I see BO in large crowds, but I'm working to get past it.
As far as folks trying to sling mud, Barack ain't having it. Check this out:
Fight the Smears
Monster from the Id: From your mouth to Zeus's ears. I do not believe this is going to be easy, but it is certainly do-able, and it goddam better be done.
LM est EN FUEGO! :D
FANTASTIC PIECE.
yes.
just...yes.
and this wave is right on time...
MFI....as long as McCain is the front man Obama wins on antional security as well.
we need to start asking right winngers "what is a win in Iraq".
there is no end game if we paly till a "win" as there is no way to win.
I suspect there will actually be little difference on foreign policy between a President McCain and a President Obama, because the same powerful interests will exist, and will want an aggressive foreign policy [more war, that is], no matter who becomes president. If Obama is elected, and then he really does try to end our hegemonic foreign policy, those interests will make him a one-term president.
************
This "new way of doing politics", at times, reminds me uncomfortably of mob rule. I have read reports of intimidation in the caucuses and such--which I notice was NOT addressed as a "smear". Also, some people have usurped the Webnames of Obama detractors to post "conversion-to-Obama" messages on Obama-detractor blogs. In general, I have noticed many Obama supporters behaving badly on the Web, especially exhibiting frat-rat misogyny. I will accept the possibility that some of the troublemakers are actually GOP plants, but I think at least some of them are genuine Obamites. Even if neither Obama nor his campaign staffers PLANNED such delinquent behavior, they seem entirely too willing to tolerate it. If he doesn't smooth these ruffled feathers, he's going to have a rough time governing if he wins.
Thanks for all of this week's vast blog output of very high quality, LM.
I'm still anxious about the near future as I lived through 1968 at the age of 16 and I guess I never really recovered.
Also when Obama is # 44 he has a hell of a task ahead of him. The nation is in a very bad way right now and whoever has to manage the rebuilding of so many aspects of the broken machine will have extreme difficulty. I'm fairly sure he will win the election, I just don't feel good about where the whole country will be when he does, and that has nothing to do with him, it's just the nature of the edge we are on right now.
I know this thread is old, but I just want to point out: This week Letterman has introduced a segment called "Cool/Not Cool", and both runs of it have been VERY pro-Obama. The first showed The Dap as cool, Dubya chest-butting at the West Point graduation as not cool (to say the fuckin' least). The second showed Obama in basketball scrimmage scoring a tough shot as cool, then Dubya trying to bounce a flat basketball during a photo op (with that surprised chimp expression afterward) as not cool.
I'm hoping this kind of funny, positive, honest coverage by Dave continues.
LM - Your best piece ever... both parts. I laughed till I cried and then I actually cried. I cannot stop smiling.... every day. Even when I'm not smiling physically, my spirit has a big SMILE all the time. It changes everything for everyone. And man, how we need that in this world. So Thankful we have your writing to capture it.... perfectly.
IBW/MFID - If he doesn't smooth these ruffled feathers, he's going to have a rough time governing if he wins.
It is not Obama's responsibility to smooth ruffled feathers. There are some who perfer to live in a permanently ruffled state. I don't know why. Seems like such a waste of life energy to me. It's the owners' of the ruffled feathers responsibility to grow up and smooth their own feathers. Seems to me, they ought not waste too much more time getting about it.
Shorter Myrtle: "Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated."
Shorter voters on Nov. 4: "Assimilate THIS!" 
MFI considering what a samll group of people we are dealing with hear I don't think anoy cares if YOUR featehrs are ruffled....there isn't a damm thing obaam or any of us can do about hte 2 year olds in adult bodies....we will let them have their temper tantrums and move ahead with out them.
they where never relivant.
Lemme guess, Moonglum.
Y'all have registered such an invincibly huge army of new voters that you'll sweep all opposition before you?
McGovern campaign, 1972.
The Republican candidate is so old and/or feeble-minded that a majority of voters will never choose him?
Carter campaign, 1980.
Gore campaign, 2000.
The Republicans have screwed up royally [which indeed they have], so any Democrat can win?
Dukakis campaign, 1988.
Kerry campaign, 2004.
Overconfidence is not a plan, folks.
Yes We Fucking CAN! Obama campaign 2008. Gitcha some, IBW!!!! 
No, thanks, Myrtle; I don't want any. You people's excessive devotion to your candidate reminds me of the Busheviks. I already have a Savior, thank you very much.
MID... authoritaian women is not a voteing block we have to worry about, the feminists will vote, the womenists have never voted in the past, they will not pull the lever or mccain so we can ignore them. every election you mention was under the old rules....that tiem has passed...the boomers/greatest generatiosn tiem has passed....the demographic of what an american is has changed drematicly even in the last 8 years.
face it...you are irrelivant and will be
Again, Moonglum, overconfidence is not a plan.
The McGovernites in 1972 thought the same thing you are thinking now. They registered many new voters and thought that would change everything.
But then, as Santayana said, "The only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn."
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