For many different reasons, I have yet to see most of the DNC speeches from this past week. Last night, however, I did get to watch Obama's acceptance speech. Even listening with a critical ear, paying attention to rhetoric and to phrases and ideas created to evoke emotion... I was moved. I want this man as my next president. Yes, although it's becoming such an over-used word, I see hope in him. I see in him--while accepting it will not happen easily or overnight--a commitment to alter the way we do politics in this country. There's a reason that many people--particularly the young and marginalized--don't vote: they don't see it as important, because they feel like it won't matter because politics will always be politics (and although I vote, I've felt the same many times). When stories come out about politicians who lie, cheat, steal or do any other number of unethical things, it makes headlines for a day or two, but people aren't really shocked, because we've come to expect that from politicians. People get frustrated with how things are--that children are under-insured, that workers can't make a living wage, that a war no one can seem to justify is still going on and our servicepersons are still in harm's way, etc, etc--and don't take action because they don't see the political process as doing anything. I think this is really what Obama wants to change, and I'm excited about it!

And now, on the "what the...?" side: In an obvious ploy to attract bitter Hillary supporters (and I'm clearly not saying all Hillary supporters are bitter, but there are some), John McCain has selected a woman, Sarah Palin, as his running-mate. Well, great, right? At least we can get a woman in the White House one way or another! Wrong. Just wrong, wrong, wrong. Does he really think the women who previously supported Hillary are that gullible? Come on! Palin is ridiculously conservative, and even more ridiculously inexperienced!