One Fine Day

This blog is, just now, emerging from a lengthy vipassana (“Do not spit on the footpaths! – Be Happy!”), full of all that clear-headedness and deep insight that only silence can confer. Or that’s the hope — and the story.

If ever there was a day to shake me from my writing stupor – I mean, meditation – it was yesterday. I attended an address by His Giggliness the Dalai Lama in the afternoon and watched Barack Obama become President of the United States late at night. That’s a pretty heady one-two punch.

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America to Receive Adult Supervision at Long-Last

Michelle Obama Kicks Ass

I have already argued that Barack Obama is the right guy at the right time to lead the redemption of America. Here’s another reason to vote for him: he’s married to a kick-ass women.

Michelle Obama rocks. She’s smart, solid, and (despite being nearly my age), retains a degree of vestigial hipness. She is a well-informed, articulate advocate on a wide range of social issues – and an effective supporter of her husband on the stump – but does not presume to offer America the two-for-one deal the Clintons promised in 1982 and never quite successfully distanced themselves from in 2008. “I’m not here as a senior advisor,” she has said, “I’m here as a wife.” She is, by all accounts, a wonderful mother and a competent professional. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that she is extremely attractive and stylish.

None of this, of course, matters a bit.

The Right Leader at the Right Time

Will Barack Obama be a great president, or even a good one? This is very difficult to predict, and depends largely on the people with whom he surrounds himself, his political acumen, and his ability to balance principle and pragmatism. He is certainly very smart, making him a welcome change from the current leadership. But then, Jimmy Carter was a brilliant man and a horrible president. Ronald Reagan was an intellectual lightweight, but had a hugely successful (if also hugely repugnant) presidency.

Still, I have no hesitation in saying that Mr. Obama is exactly the right person to lead this country at this time.