What Is It About Obama That Makes Me
What to Stop and Listen?
by Carol Hansen Grey

What is it about Obama that makes me want to stop what I'm doing and listen every time I hear his voice? Is it that the sound of his voice, and what he has to say, taps something deep within me that inspires me to pay attention, makes me feel hopeful, fills me with a vision of "what can be," encourages me to become involved? Is it because he writes his own speeches and thus I get a sense of his sincerity and wisdom?

I don't know about others, but I have a very difficult time listening to (or watching) President Bush. I try... I really try to have a open mind and to actually sit through one of his talks but I find I can only take a few minutes before I'm so turned off, I need to leave the room. I don't like that about myself. I don't like the fact that I feel the way I do about the leader of our country. I want to once again be able to be inspired when I listen to the president deliver a State of the Union Address or any other talk. I want to feel a sense of pride in our president that he or she is intelligent, wise, truthful, compassionate and trustworthy. These are some of the things that have been missing for me when I think about the past 8 years of the Bush presidency.

So some of the criteria I've set for myself to determine which candidate I will support is: (1) the person I most enjoy listening to and watching, (2) who instills in me a sense of trust and (3) who inspires me to be a better person and to contribute in some way to making our world a better place. Hillary, unfortunately, doesn't pass the test. Her talks feel "canned," manipulative, insincere, disingenuous and sometimes vindictive. Her truthfulness has also been called into question on a number of occasions. After these long months of campaigning, I truly don't feel I know the REAL Hillary -- only the Hillary who delivers the speeches that are written for her like an actor playing a role complete with the appropriate facial expressions and hand motions. Even though I would desperately love to see a woman in the White House, I do NOT feel in my heart she is the right woman for the job.

When I envision Obama in the White House, I am filled with a happy anticipation that I will once again WANT to listen to what our president has to say, to benefit from his wisdom and to be inspired to do my part, whatever that may be, to contribute to the greatness of this country and the betterment of the world.