Perhaps it’s the natural result of living as a liberal in Nebraska, but I have always had very low expectations for politicians. I don’t expect them to represent my views, and I know that when they talk about sharing my values, they don’t mean my values. (For example, I happen to value equality over the “traditional definition” of marriage.) I just hope that things don’t get worse, and that they occasionally get a little better. Even that small hope is rarely justified.
This could be the point at which I would exclaim that Obama’s mantra of hope and change has encouraged my idealistic core to emerge from its hard shell of cynicism. But it hasn’t. Even at my tender age I can see how politicians come by every 2 to 4 years with flowery language and empty promises. They may even mean it, but the sausage factory that is Congress can turn even the best of intentions into 500-page behemoth bills that only partially accomplish the original goal with the added bonus of at least a dozen additional objectives and earmarks galore.
However, I think it’s the wrong choice to toss one’s hands up in exasperation and declare a pox on both their parties. There are differences, even from my extremely liberal perspective, although there might not be as many as I would like or in as many places as I would like. I would vote for the “Anybody but McCain” option, since it’s easier to dislike a candidate than to like another.
But I do like Obama. Or more accurately, I like how his candidacy has brought liberals out of the woodwork. I smile when I see an Obama sticker on a car in Nebraska. Showing support from Obama thus becomes a way to signal to others that we do have a presence in Nebraska. And the number of people builds as others begin to think, ‘Hey, maybe we do have a chance.’
Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, his campaign builds support by showing its current support. And so the hope generated by the campaign is not really about Obama. It is about all of the people who are planning to vote for him, and even us in Nebraska, who begin to think that we have a chance of giving him an electoral vote or two. I haven’t been watching the convention because the scripted pageantry bores me, but I can’t wait to see the reaction in the letters to the editor. I’m glad the 50-state strategy and Obama’ war-chest are bringing the electoral fight to Nebraska. It might be a small hope, but it’s the largest amount I’ve dared have in a long time.