Does Barack Obama Deserve the Nobel Peace Prize?

I was really excited to hear who the Norwegian Nobel Committee would choose today to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Would it be Three Cups of Tea author and Afghanistan and Pakistan builder of schools for girls Greg Mortenson (see my post on Greg here)? Or Dr. Denis Mukwege, the Congolese gynecologist who has repaired the damage done to 21,000 gang raped women and given them hope? Both were incredibly deserving and could certainly put the $1.4 million prize money to good use helping women and girls.

President Obama at UN Security Council Meeting in September 2009 (Doug Mills, NY Times)

I was as stunned as anyone to learn upon waking today that President Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The committee received 205 nominations and created a short list of between 5 and 20 nominees. A group of academics who are permanent advisers to the Nobel Institute examined these candidates, gave their input, and the committee made the final decision. They had this to say about why they awarded President Obama the prize:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 is to be awarded to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee has attached special importance to Obama’s vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama’s initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.

Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world’s attention and given its people hope for a better future. His diplomacy is founded in the concept that those who are to lead the world must do so on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world’s population.

For 108 years, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has sought to stimulate precisely that international policy and those attitudes for which Obama is now the world’s leading spokesman. The Committee endorses Obama’s appeal that “Now is the time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for a global response to global challenges.”

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had this to say about President Obama’s win:

We are entering an era of renewed multilateralism, a new era where the challenges facing humankind demand global common cause and uncommon global effort. President Obama embodies the new spirit of dialogue and engagement on the world’s biggest problems: climate change, nuclear disarmament and a wide range of peace and security challenges.

There are many naysayers, though…mostly in the U.S….who ask what has he done to deserve this prestigious prize? After all, he’s only been president for 9 months. Go back even to the over two-year election period and you can see him already at work as a peacemaker. Some examples?

• John McCain called him “that one” in an election debate and Obama turned the other cheek and did not react. He has been very gracious toward McCain and included him in many high-value decisions since he’s been president.
• Hillary Clinton was snide and mocked Obama repeatedly during the election and Obama never responded in kind toward her. After her vitriol (and Bill’s) toward him, he had the grace to ask her to be his secretary of state.
• Throughout all the Bill Ayers, Reverend Wright, and Acorn debaucles and Palin hate mongering rallies, Obama said repeatedly that he trusted the American people to see what was really important and not to get sidetracked or misled.

Not once did he let all of the ugliness directed at him cause him to act ugly in return. Many people saw him as weak and thought he surely would not win the election because he didn’t go on the attack, but the American people decided they wanted someone who was peaceful, positive, and projected a quiet calm.

Besides how he conducted himself during the campaign, President Obama, in just a few short months has already done a lot to promote peace. A few of his efforts include:

• A commitment to nuclear disarmament even in the face of North Korea’s threats and launching missiles
• Meeting with President Dmitri Medvedev to begin repairing relations with Russia
• Meeting with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan to improve relations between their countries
• Giving a major speech aimed at the Muslim world in Cairo where he spoke of a fresh start and a new relationship based on mutual respect and understanding
• Working to restart peace talks by meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine

President Obama’s spoke this morning about this honor; here are some of his remarks:

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who’ve been honored by this prize — men and women who’ve inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it’s also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I’ve said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won’t all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it’s recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award — and the call to action that comes with it — does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better.

President Obama will go to Oslo, Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10. He has announced that he will donate the prize money to charity.

Kenyan Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner, said:

Many people are waiting for miracles, when miracles have already happened. The getting of the senator into the Senate, the way he conducted his campaign, the way he won… In America it may not look as big a thing as it was to the rest of the world, the hope and the aspiration it provides for the rest of the world.

Think back to election night and inauguration day. Barack Obama…even before he became president…lifted not only the American people, but people all over the world. He gave them hope, he made them believe again in decency, respectfulness, dignity, honor, honesty, openness, civility, inclusiveness, and the power of trusting and communicating with people all over the world. To me, these are the hallmarks of what creating peace is all about.

Alfred Nobel stated in his will that he wanted the Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded to…

the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

Does Barack Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize? For me…and the committee upholding Alfred Nobel’s wishes…the answer is YES, he does. I cannot think of a single other person who is more the active embodiment of what Alfred Nobel sought in a peacemaker worthy of this award. Congratulations, President Obama and thank you for your example and your peaceful tone as a man and as our president.

Here’s Geir Lundestad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, speaking to senior editor Simon Frantz about why President Obama was chosen for this high honor.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/09/nobel-prize-to-obama-defe_n_316098.html

A Brand New Day – The Inauguration of Barack Obama

Instead of a rah-rah campaign speech, Barack Obama’s inaugural address was one of a leader during difficult times…sobering, direct, forceful, confident, and often parental.

Instead of trying to make us feel good, he spoke to us honestly about the challenges ahead and of how we must all do our part. The massive crowd seemed a bit stunned. They were in a party mood and wanted to cheer during his speech. They had a few opportunities…but mostly listened somberly to his call to each of them…to each of us. If you didn’t see or hear the speech…or just want to watch it again, here it is.

 

The interviews with people who came to the inauguration were heart-warming and tear-producing. They each had a personal story to tell of why they had to come to the inauguration, no matter the hardships in getting there or the discomfort of standing in 15 degree cold for hours.

Barack and Michelle…now the President and First Lady…and Vice President and Mrs. Biden showed courage (another trait of leaders) in walking several blocks down Pennsylvania Avenue on a day when many feared for their safety.

Obama was gracious in thanking Bush for his service, but appropriately did not gush and did not mention Cheney. The sight of Cheney bowed in a wheelchair…the formerly all powerful vice president…now not able to walk on his own two feet seemed apropos. The sight of Bush leaving in a government helicopter while the crowd booed and sang “Na Na Na Na, Goodbye” also seemed apropos. The two war criminals were diminished and dismissed by a people eager to get on with forgetting the destruction they left behind.

Senator Kennedy, even with brain cancer, looked fit and delighted as he took his seat in the viewing stand at the swearing in…and later suffered a seizure at lunch. He, like so many of us, was so moved by Obama that he put his own (health) issues to the side and showed up, which is what Obama is asking us all to do.

Malia and Sasha were poised and charming and their mother Michelle was beautiful, elegant, lovely, graceful, and supportive. Barack was intimate with his wife and children and made the day as much about them as it was about him.

The planning of the day was superlative…except that more wiggle room could have been built into the schedule. It was a beautiful day, a memorable day, a joyful day, and a day to remember.

Celebrities such as Beyonce (beautifully and tearfully singing “At Last” as the Obamas danced their first dance), Alicia Keys, Oprah and Steadman, Kanye West, Mariah Carey, Will.I.Am (he of the incredible video that contributed so much to the campaign), Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill, Usher, and so many more were thrilled to participate in the day and at the balls. Aretha Franklin sang “My Country Tis of Thee” masterfully during the swearing in ceremony.

Barack Obama brought change today…to our country, our minds, and our hearts. I leave you with Will.I.Am singing a song so appropriate for the day…”It’s a New Day”…a day an African American became the most powerful person in the world and moved into the WHITE House…built on the backs of black slaves.

Bushwhacked No More…A Country Breathes Again and a People are Lifted

Bush. Lies and cover-ups. An unnecessary and costly war. Ignoring the American people. Authorizing torture. Dragging our country down. Besmirching our global reputation and moral character. That smirk. That goofy look. Those gaffes. In about 11 hours from now it ends. A primal scream of joy will be heard round the world when this presidential impostor finally leaves office. We can breathe a sigh of relief.

I feel that this moment is like the movie title “Waiting to Exhale.” We’ve been waiting a long time, wondering just what else Bush and Cheney would screw up. Would they thrust us into another war? Have more people tortured or renditioned? Give several more 100 billion dollars to banks or auto makers or insurance companies without any oversight?

In 11 hours we can all let go of those worries. Barack Obama will be our new president. He is a man of character, a family man, someone who listens to others (even those who have opposing opinions), an uniter, an incredibly intelligent man, eloquent, inspiring, confident, a transformational figure. He has chosen and surrounded himself with a team of brilliant, talented people who will help him get our country back on track.

Obama won’t make David Letterman’s “Best Moments in Presidential Speeches” (showing Bush’s gaffes) or be someone that comedians can make fun of easily. Obama is admired, revered, respected…and rightly so. He is everyman, coming from humble beginnings and rising up to make something out of himself. He is the opposite of George W. Bush, who got where he is in life because of his daddy and due to brother Jeb helping fix the Florida count in the 2000 election.

Obama has a personal strong moral compass. He is so obviously in love with his wife and children. He has a strong character and has a laser focus on his goals. This is a man we can trust. We want to be him…or like him.

So tonight I begin to let go of all the stale breath that has been bottled up inside of me…fear that Bush would do one more harmful thing that might sink our country into irreversible Hades.

A new day begins tomorrow. I share with you again Seal singing “Change Gonna Come.” It’s just as appropriate tonight as it was on the night that Barack Obama was elected president. Change is coming…and we will all be better for it.

Winners and Losers of the 2008 Election

Who do you think the winners and losers of the 2008 election are? Here are mine.

WINNERS
* David Axelrod and David Plouffe – Absolutely phenomenal – neither will ever lack for a job. The no-drama and nearly perfect Obama campaign was a marvel…probably the best-run campaign ever.

After the Election

The USA Today/Gallup survey, conducted on Wednesday, asked how people felt about Obama’s election. 67% said proud, 67% said optimistic, 59% said excited, 30% said pessimistic, and 27% said afraid.

President-Elect Obama’s Election Night Speech

Obama started his electrifying election night speech by reminding us that America is STILL a land of possibility and the realization of dreams. He spoke of us being a diverse people while seeking to unite us by saying that we are not a collection of red and blue states…we are the UNITED STATES of America.

From KKK crosses to a black president

As a white child growing up in east Tennessee in the 1950s and 1960s I remember seeing huge KKK crosses burning. I didn’t fully understand what I was seeing, but I did feel shame as a white person. My grandfather had a farm and hired several black men as farmworkers. He always referred to them as “niggers” and that term felt uncomfortable to me then. It was a way of talking about people that was demeaning…that meant they were less than in his eyes.

A Change is Gonna Come

A song for today. Seal doing more than justice to Sam Cooke’s song.

Let’s Go Change the World

This video is so inspiring. We can change the world today. VOTE.

11/4/08 WE CHOOSE A NEW AMERICA

11/4/08 we choose a new America. McCain and Palin did everything they could in this election to divide the country, create hate, inflame racism, lie, cheat, hide, deny, smear, and more. ENOUGH. 11/4/08 WE CHOOSE A NEW AMERICA.

Rachel Maddow and Barack Obama

I watched Dr. (and Rhodes Scholar) Rachel Maddow interview Harvard Law Review President Barack Obama tonight on her show. This was two highly intelligent, engaging, and informed intellectuals going head to head. There has been (by the McCain campaign) so much emphasis put on Obama being someone who can give a good speech and draw crowds. It’s easy to forget that Obama is also a tremendous scholar.

Obamamercial

What did you think? Love it? Lukewarm? Didn’t like it at all? Here’s what I think:

• It was incredibly well-executed. It was directed by Davis Guggenheim, the director and executive producer of former Vice President Al Gore’s global warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” and producer and director of the HBO series “Deadwood.” Guggenheim also directed Obama’s convention video.
• It was heart-felt, moving, and according to many Twitter posts, had lots of people in tears.
• It showed ordinary Americans with big problems due to the downturn of the economy, lack of health care, and more. Those people are everyman. He drove it home to us…made it personal.
• It was totally positive. It was all about what Obama could do for America, not what’s wrong with America.
• John McCain or Sarah Palin were never mentioned. Again, the focus was on the positive and not bashing the other guy (or gal).
• Obama came across as presidential. He was commanding yet caring, knowledgeable and intelligent, confident yet accessible.
• Obama said in this video “You can trust me. I understand you. I want to help you. I care about you.”
• Bravo! Well done!

If you didn’t see it or want to watch it again, you can watch it here. Enjoy!

Why So Angry? Afraid You’re Losing YOUR America?

You’ve seen them. Those angry people at rallies and being interviewed on TV. I’ve seen them in commentary on this blog and in hateful blogs of their own. Why are people so angry?

Any psychologist – even an armchair one – will tell you that anger often masks fear. In other words, if you display anger, you’re probably fearful about something. The Republicans may fear the loss of the election and Congressional seats. That’s understandable.

But I think there is more going on here than a fear of losing power. Often people are threatened by those who are different from them and Barack Obama is different. He has a funny (to our ears) sounding name, he has an African father and a white mother, he looks black, etc. Also, Obama is super intelligent, thoughtful, and is measured in how he makes decisions. This seems foreign to a lot of people, especially those who don’t value intelligence and education and are married to some rhetoric that tells them how to think and what to do. They say they don’t trust him because they just don’t understand that kind of intellect and ability to analyze and make judgments.

There are also a lot of people afraid of losing what they see as the normal America…the white America, the evangelical America, the dumbed-down America, the bellicose go-to-war and fight-fight-fight America, and the our-country-is-supreme America. What these factions don’t seem to understand is that while Bush and Cheney were the face of that kind of America and tried to perpetuate that facade, the real America (and I’m not talking about the real America Palin talks about) has moved on as has the rest of the world.

We are black, white, Asian, Indian, bi-racial, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Hispanic, Christian, atheist, and more. We realize we are well behind other industrialized countries in education and need to catch up. More and more of us believe that peace is possible and don’t believe in spending $12 billion a month in Iraq. And we are owned in large part by China and other countries and will go the way of England or Spain and lose world leadership if we don’t bring our focus back to our internal problems and begin to fix them.

We can’t afford anger, hatred, divisiveness, self-appointed moral authority, finger-pointing, and tearing down each other and the country. This is not what our country needs. We need inclusiveness, understanding, working together, building each other up, and hope.

Thanks to HealThisNation.org for the tip on their ads about people wanting real change and hoping for a better future. Here’s one of their great ads. Others are posted on their website and on YouTube.

The Politics of Moral Superiority

I am bothered by what I hear from some Republican evangelicals…that they are the only ones who are religious, moral, and right and their way of thinking about God is the only one that counts. Their self-annointed supremacy means that they should also be in political power in the country because the rest of us are (as one of my commenters said) “atheists” and “immoral.” Really? Last time I checked, I was neither one of those things and I’d say most people aren’t.

Yes, Lashawn, Your Child Could Be President

Only white, Christian males have ever been president in the U.S. As a white female growing up in the 1950s and 1960s, I never even considered that I could ever be president or that any girl could. Now I believe it will happen in my lifetime. Hillary Clinton certainly helped pave the way.

I saw the movie “The Secret Life of Bees” today. It is set in 1964 when racial prejudice meant a black man might be beaten if he were seen in public with a white woman, there were separate “colored” entrances, and the Ku Klux Klan would burn crosses and terrorize black people. As a child growing up in east Tennessee, I remember seeing those crosses burning and recall my grandfather calling the hired hands on his farm “niggers.” Even then I hated the demeaning sound of that word. I remember we had a childhood rhyme we would chant “Eenie, meanie, miney moe. Catch a nigger by his toe. If he hollers, make him pay $50 dollars every day.” It was a way to decide who went first by pointing first to me and then to the other person as we recited that rhyme. I didn’t think about the racial ugliness of that at the time. It seemed harmless. It wasn’t. It was reprehensible.

Children born into a world that eyed them with such hatred, disdain, and invisibility certainly could not imagine even being considered equal to white children, much less attaining the highest office in the land.

Things have changed. The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 to ensure equal rights for all people, but attitudes and real change take time. There is still a lot of prejudice against people who don’t look like us or have a funny sounding name or have a non-Christian religion. We’ve seen it in video clips of people at McCain/Palin rallies who say they could never vote for a “colored” man or accuse Obama of being a Muslim as if that automatically means he is a terrorist. These incidents peel back the ugly layers of prejudice that still exist throughout our country.

And yet, there is progress. I have spent quite a lot of time talking to and hanging out with African-Americans. When Obama was in the primary battle with Hillary, they were sure in the beginning that not many white people would vote for a black man for president. White people had let them down and worked against them all of their lives, going back over two centuries; this would be no different. They were in shock when Obama actually won the nomination. That obviously wasn’t possible just by a strong black vote; white people were actually voting for a black man!

And now, we are on the eve of a bi-racial, self-declared black man becoming the most powerful person in the world. We still have a lot of hatred, divisiveness, exclusivity, and unequal opportunity. But now, Lashawn, and all those other black, Muslim, Hispanic, etc. mothers, you can turn to your child – be it a boy or a girl – and say “You, too, could be president one day. You can be anything you want to be!”

Change is coming…long time coming.

If You Aren’t a Republican, You’re Not a Real American?

What happened to the UNITED States of America? What happened to us all pulling together like we did after 9/11 or after devastating hurricanes or wildfires to help our neighbors? What happened to common decency, inclusion, and our fellow man? How did we get to the place of so many people saying YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US, which means we’re better than you, you’re scary, we don’t trust you, and we’re not going to include you.

A man at a McCain rally today had printed up bumper stickers that had Obama’s name and the word “Change” written with a swastika and Islamic symbol. He was saying to Obama and the more than 50% of the American public that supports him: YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US.

Republican Representative Michele Bachmann from Minnesota on Friday’s Hardball with Chris Matthews says she ”…is very concerned that Barack Obama may have anti-American views”. She then called for the media to investigate whether members of Congress are pro-America or anti-America. She is saying to Obama and members of Congress who are left leaning: YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US.

White people have been interviewed on television saying they cannot vote for Obama because he is “colored”…they could never vote for a black man for President. Some say he is a Muslim or an Arab (he is neither) as if those are dirty words. They are saying to Obama: YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US.

Sarah Palin said “We believe that the best of America is not all in Washington, D.C. We believe that the best of America is in these small towns that we get to visit, and in these wonderful little pockets of what I call the real America, being here with all of you hard working very patriotic, um, very, um, pro-America areas of this great nation.” If you’re not a small town person, she’s saying YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US.

Sarah Palin also said this in a rally about Barack Obama: “Our opponent … is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he’s palling around with terrorists who would target their own country. This is not a man who sees America like you and I see America.  We see America as a force of good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism.” She’s saying to Barack Obama: YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US.

Since when did Republicans and those on the right have a corner on being patriotic and country-loving Americans, of being good people, of being a force for good, and of loving God? Republicans, John McCain, Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and the people coming to McCain and Palin rallies with signs that say things like (and this was one waving right in front of Todd Palin’s face at a rally) “Charles Manson was a community organizer”, do you think you are MORE American with your hatred, your divisiveness, your false accusations, your racism, and your inciting lynch mobs and prejudice?  

That’s not the America I want to be a part of. If you want rioting, hate mobs, KKK, white supremacists, lynching, shunning of Arabs, Muslims, or anyone who isn’t white and isn’t a Christian, then those of us who want to promote peace, harmony, love, inclusiveness, caring for each other, understanding, and acceptance must say to you: YOU’RE NOT ONE OF US.

Barack Obama: Inclusiveness in a Time of Divisiveness

The endorsements for Obama by typically Republican newspapers, columnists, and media speak of how Obama brings inclusiveness when our divided country desperately needs it. Here are a few excerpts from endorsements for Obama by CONSERVATIVE newspapers and columnists:

• Chicago Tribune – “We know first-hand that Obama seeks out and listens carefully and respectfully to people who disagree with him. He builds consensus. He has risen with his honor, grace and civility intact. He has the intelligence to understand the grave economic and national security risks that face us, to listen to good advice and make careful decisions.”
• Washington Post – “Mr. Obama is a man of supple intelligence, with a nuanced grasp of complex issues and evident skill at conciliation and consensus-building. But Mr. Obama’s temperament is unlike anything we’ve seen on the national stage in many years. He is deliberate but not indecisive; eloquent but a master of substance and detail; preternaturally confident but eager to hear opposing points of view. He has inspired millions of voters of diverse ages and races, no small thing in our often divided and cynical country. We think he is the right man for a perilous moment.”
• Seattle Times – “At a time of huge challenge, the candidate with the intelligence, temperament and judgment to lead our nation to a better place is Sen. Barack Obama.”
• Christopher Buckley, who resigned from the National Review (which his father started) over his endorsement of Obama – ” Obama has in him—I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy “We are the people we have been waiting for” silly rhetoric—the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for. So, I wish him all the best. We are all in this together. Necessity is the mother of bipartisanship.”
• Michael Smerconish, Philadelphia radio host – “He’s better suited to be a unifier.”

These are some of the typical Republican mouthpieces that are crossing party lines to endorse Barack Obama because they see him as the man who can help the entire country rise out of the major crises we are facing now.

The electrifying keynote speech that Obama gave at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which introduced him on the national stage to most people, rings even more true today to what our country needs. In part, he said:

“It is that fundamental belief — it is that fundamental belief — I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sisters’ keeper — that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family: “E pluribus unum,” out of many, one.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America; there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America.”

He goes on to say that “We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.”

The polls reflect that people are tired of the divisiveness that Palin and McCain tout at their rallies and in their inflammatory ads and campaign letters and calls. Their inciting near-riots and mob lynches at rallies – particularly Palin – are reprehensible, irresponsible, and downright dangerous. This talk of Obama as being “not one of us” is racist, divisive, and exclusionary. Palin even questions the loyalty of some Americans and praises certain areas of the country for being more patriotic.

Our country will be well served by a president who truly puts country first, rises above what separates us, looks for ways to connect us, and invites us all to join him to make this a better country. Barack Obama is the one we’ve been waiting for…the one we need to lead us and unite us.

Barack Obama – Calm, Steady, Presidential

The world is in the midst of an enormous financial crisis. 401ks, life savings, jobs, banks, and businesses are vanishing before our eyes. Barack Obama is the calm, steady hand we need to lead our country out of a near-depression, a 10-billion-dollar-a-month war in Iraq, and a 10+ trillion dollar national deficit.

Andrew Sullivan of The Atlantic and columnist for the UK’s Sunday Times has written a brilliant article for today’s Times about Obama’s calm and how he does not panic.

I am in awe of Obama. His challengers try and provoke him and he does not take the bait. McCain runs negative ads against him and Obama says he trusts the American people…that they are smart enough to see through all that. McCain calls him “THAT ONE” in the debate and Obama just smiles and lets it roll off his back. Obama just does not get ruffled.

His opponents try and paint him as too cool or elite. It’s been so long since we’ve had a calm, intelligent, and thoughtful president that the Republicans make that sound scary.

Republicans, the fear-mongering and swift boating just won’t work against Obama. He’s just too smart for you. He’s assembled a brilliant team of people who are just as steady and calm as he is. They are in it to win and they will win.

23 days. Calm. Steady. Stay the course. Focus on the issues. Let McCain and Palin flail in desperation. I can’t wait to have an intelligent, methodical, mature, and honest president. President Obama. Just who our country needs.

Obama has run the Lance Armstrong Tour de France campaign

Lance Armstrong, a fellow Austinite, is methodical. He plots how to win the 23-day Tour de France and each day does what he needs to do to win in the long-run. He doesn’t concern himself with winning each day; being the one who has the best time overall is what matters to him.

This is also what matters to Obama and his brilliant campaign strategists. They have probably run the best campaign in political history. They defeated the powerful Hillary and Bill Clinton machine. They have taken Obama from being the little-known senator from Illinois to most likely the next President of the United States. They have hired the best people in the business and have used the Internet in ways never thought of or experienced before. Whereever you are on the Internet, they are there. They make it easy for people to find them, to donate money (however much you want to give), to be a part of the campaign.

When you see David Plouffe, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, Bill Burton, or any number of other people who work with the campaign interviewed, they are always very calm, no matter what shenanigans McCain and Palin are up to at the moment. They know they have a plan to win and it’s just another day on the trail…just as it’s just another day for Lance when he rides in the Tour de France. They know what they want to accomplish that day and they stick to the plan, adjusting course as needed.

This is a big reason why I believe that Barack Obama will make a very good President. He doesn’t get sidelined by McCain’s stunts and doesn’t quickly change course because his poll numbers drop a point. He and his team just stay the course and do the work.

Barack Obama and Lance Armstrong both have a lot of tenacity, a good team behind them, outstanding skills, confidence, the belief that they will win, and they put in the work each day to get them closer to their dream. There’s a lot to admire in them both. I look forward to seeing Obama with the winner’s jersey on November 4th.