The endorsement you've been waiting for

So Howard Dean is getting antsy for the superdelegates to finally settle on a candidate, and I figure the timing is right with Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina primaries coming up for my very influential blog to come right out and endorse Barack Obama. I think I might have a combined readership of, like, three people in those states. So, three readers, Barack the Vote! Really, I've been itching to post these pictures that I think are pretty funny. First, we've got my friend Melani and me canvassing for Barack here in Ohio a few weeks before the primary in the middle of a snowstorm:

The two of us also sloshed around for hours in the pouring rain on election day back in March knocking on doors trying to squeeze out every last vote. To be honest I think I might have gotten him about three extra votes that day after some conversations with some thoughtful and still undecided women. You really cannot blame his lackluster Ohio results on us! He actually completely dominated in Dayton and won the precincts we were canvassing.

Also, my friend Alisa and I went to his rally at the Nutter Center here and her baby Mary came along. The place was almost full, no one fainted, and it was fun to be a part of the excitement even though I could only bring myself to clap along to the "Yes We Can!" chanting. Here are me and Mary, and Mary with Barack Himself on the stage. You can almost see one of the cool Obama t-shirts Melani made for me:

Being involved with the campaign is probably my favorite thing I've done here in Dayton. I hosted a gathering at our house a few weeks before the primary, and it was so terrific to see the people who showed up. With about 24 hours notice on his website there was standing room only, and there were white and black, young and old, retired military, educators, scientists, people all along the economic spectrum. And headquarters was always like that - so many different kinds of friendly, terrific people all working together. It was great. There was one little black lady, probably about 80, who wore an electric blue beret covered with Obama pins, and she carried a matching electric blue pom-pom she would shake to show her enthusiasm for something. Hillarious and wonderful. I also loved having an excuse to knock on people's doors in different neighborhoods and talk with them. It helped me feel more connected to this place. I highly recommend getting involved with a political campaign - any campaign! - to meet a lot of really terrific people who care about our world, our country, and your community, who are hopeful that things can improve and willing to put some energy into making it happen.

I think it's traditional in an endorsement to list a few reasons one supports a candidate. I'll preface my remarks by relating this amazing aligning of the stars that happened a few weeks ago. I was playing the game Apples to Apples with the young women at church. The way the game works is someone lays down a card with an adjective on it, and you lay down a card from your hand that you think is well described by the adjective. So someone laid down "desperate," and what card do you think I had in my hand? Only the most desperate person in the world BILL CLINTON! I kid you not.

Here's the crux of why I support Obama: he authentically understands so much of our country and our world. He's black; he knows what it means to be a black man in this country. His mother and grandparents who raised him were white, from Kansas. He spent part of his childhood in a developing country scarred by war. He has an ivy league law degree. He spent years working and living with desperately poor people on the streets in Chicago. He has family in Africa. He is hip, what with that Jay-Z reference last week for all the Young People, and the coolness of the the will.i.am Yes We Can video, although I admit the hipness of that has pretty much dissipated by now (but compare it to the hilarious It's Raining McCain and the hipness factor goes right back up). He is thoughtful and articulate; his book Dreams from my Father is just incredibly introspective, literary, and well done. And what about that speech on race?! A man who can grasp nuance and different sides of an issue, and articulate it! And lastly, someone who can really inspire us as a nation. It is undeniable he has a gift. I mean, his Yes We Can New Hampshire speech was one of the most inspiring things I've seen ever. Someone who can motivate us to work harder for equality, prosperity, justice, and all the rest - our country could use some more of that.

I think I'll just end with the catchy slogan Joseph dictated for us to write on his very own Obama sign hanging in his room: "Don't vote for Hillary Clinton! Vote for Barack Obama. Obama '08"