First time for everything.

Well I finally did it. I donated to a political campaign for the first time in my 41 years on this planet. I always figured that it was money better spent just giving it to someone who needed it directly... then I heard Sarah Palin speak.

For over a decade I have been disillusioned by what had happened to the "Republican" party and how plank by plank and value by value its platform has been disassembled and its honor sullied. The party I knew believed in smaller federal government, fiscal responsibility, leaving state issues to the states, and Duty, Honor, Country. Now it has become the home of the American Taliban. Where honorable veterans like John Kerry are turned into "cowards" by chickenhawks like Bush, Cheney, Wolfawitz and Rove. Where the patriotism of decent and honorable people is questioned because they dare to question the administration's policies. Where people are "better off" by having their families and friends drown in a hurricane and huddling in a makeshift shelter. Where political hacks edit scientific reports to tow the party line. Where our gay brothers and sisters should be told by the U.S. Constitution that they are not worthy of being full citizens. Where our air and water are polluted and the EPA's hands are tied by political operatives. Where the Justice Department is filled with ideologues instead of legal crusaders. Where people turn a profit on the misery of others medical woes and people are literally left to die for lack of health coverage. Where a bastardized vision of religion is injected into the state like we haven't seen since "Tail Gunner" Joe Macarthy. Where we deny the warming of the planet like the proverbial frog in the slowly boiling pot. Where we turn our backs to the genocide of Darfur but invade other countries for geopolitical strategic interest based on lies and distortions. Where the tragedy of 9/11 is used as a cuddle to stifle dissent rather then inspire national discourse. Where federal agencies ignore the will of a state and destroy the lives of people trying to provide comfort to glaucoma patients and the terminally ill in the name of the "War on Drugs" Where the rule of law is replaced by the rule of the powerful and connected. Where the Vice President can meet secretly with people who form policy but won't even reveal the names of those involved. Where our nation's heroic intelligence agents have to worry about being outted not by counter intelligence agencies but our own White House for political gain. Where a decent man is castigated for having the audacity to hope.

These are not the Republican ideals I was raised with. These are not American values. I too say ENOUGH! You see, I served not for myself but for my country not behind a desk but behind a rifle, not in an office but under a parachute then in the mud. I served for the protesters right to be heard even when it makes my blood boil. While I may hate the ideas and words I will die defending the right of and American to speak them because I hate oppression more. The Constitution is my commandments. The voice of reason raised against the howling mob is my Pledge of Allegiance. The dignity of an honest day's work, extending your help to a neighbor in need, the mentoring of a kid, judging a person by their character and not their melanin content or accent or who they choose to love, those are my values. Those are American values. While we as a people have struggled to live up to those values and fallen well short again and again, the miracle lies in the fact that we continue to get back up and continue to struggle on. The American spirit has always been to strive to be better that we are, to not settle for mediocrity but vie for virtuosity. This often confused and stumbling endeavor we call America is great not because of our wealth or power but the hearts of our people. The hearts of those huddled masses yearning to be free who came here and built a nation with nothing more that a dream and a gritty determination that we can be better than we are.

In Barack Obama I see a man who sees America not for what it is but what it could be. I have not been inspired for a very long time and have languished in the doldrums of cynicism and derision that has been our political process for most of my life but here in the unlikeliest of men, with the story that shatters the status quo, I find myself daring to hope. Hearing him speak of the America that could be has brought tears to my eyes on more than one occasion. His words have found a way into my jaded heart and given me a glimmer of hope that maybe just maybe if we work hard, stick together and believe in one another we can get back up and start struggling to be a more perfect union.

The moment I knew he was for real was not during a speech or stumping but when he looked into his beautiful wife's eyes during the "terrorist fist jab" moment. I have a beautiful wife like that. I judge myself as a man by the way she looks at me. I know that look. I trust Michelle because she is the real hero in that family like my wife is in ours. That fleeting moment when they stopped and looked at each other, time slowed, the crowd noise faded away and if you were paying attention you saw what it is like to be loved and admired by a great woman. I live and die for those moments with my wife. Those are the moments you can't fake and the derision they got for it shows you who doesn't get what's real and live those callow lives devoid of ever having a person look at them that way, for they themselves are neither decent nor admirable.

I may never by a loyal Democrat but I will always be a loyal American and there is only one party who is espousing the hope on which this nation is built. You have my meager donation and my vote.