Change that is happening

Eight years ago I began to grow into my own politics with the 2000 presidential election. I didn't understand it, I didn't know the players, or what they stood for. I thought George Bush seemed like a cool dude, someone I'd like to kick back and watch a football game with. And he is.

I was 14.

Enter September 11th, Afghanistan, Iraq, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, the Patriot Act, wiretapping, torture legislation, Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and enough lies and misleading policies ands statements to legitimize a push for impeachment.

I grew into a news junkie. Add to this the backdrop of university education and the emergence of the Internet. Statistics, swing states, political platforms, the Left and the Right, became part of my every day discussion. I turned off the TV except to watch the news and the Daily Show and became hooked on watching back episodes of The West Wing.

But us liberals, we were always on the outside. George Bush returned for a second term and although I could never really find myself rallying behind John Kerry, I fell flat on my face for a week.

At least the satire will be good, I concluded. It was all I could do to joke but couldn't help but hang my head at the death, destruction and global unease that the Bush administration would continue to bring.

Now, eight years after my introduction to the greatest political show on earth, I'm watching and reading what's happening south of my border. Further north than I have ever been in my life, the town has ground to a virtual standstill due to blizzard conditions that, according to the weatherman, won't be letting up until tomorrow. So far, the power and Internet are still up and I'm locked into election coverage.

I find it hard to believe that Barack Obama, a man I've been following since his extremely popular speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention, is on the cusp of becoming the next president of the United States. A man so different than his predecessor and so in line with my own politics that I often think it must be too good to be true. Yet, millions are out on the streets of America today to vote for this man who has risen from obscurity to one of the most heavily scrutinized people on the planet. He exudes confidence and dignity. In recent weeks he has appeared presidential in all respects and for the first time since my political awakening, the candidate I have been behind since the beginning may actually declare victory.

I only hope that I am right in believing in this man.