OBAMARAMA

Here at OBAMARAMA, our mission is pretty clear. In case there’s any question, it says it right there above the photograph at the top of the page: to support Sen. Barack Obama in his deliberations regarding the presidential election of 2008.

Of course, between his two possible decisions — to run or not to run — it would be fair to say we have a preference. By highlighting Sen. Obama’s unique qualifications for the job, not only of president but also of candidate, and by underscoring how both the national and global political climates are not just ripe but are in fact aching for his style of politics, we aim to increase awareness and interest in the senator’s potential candidacy. In our small way, we hope to add a thoughtful voice to the growing chorus that is encouraging Sen. Obama to seek the nomination.

This website is a message in a bottle. I have no idea who reads it or what impact it makes on your thinking. But if anyone walks away with a better understanding of what Sen. Obama brings to the table, or an interest in learning more about his unifying brand of politics, then it has served its purpose.

It is a difficult thing to sit through years of panderin? and narrow vision without becoming deeply jaded about government. But the belief that American politics can be an opportunity to explore different answers to our most pressing concerns — poverty, energy, war — continues to burn like a quiet pilot light in many of us. The conviction that government is what happens when people decide they want to live together in peace and prosperity, and that good government helps us balance our right to excel as individuals with our desire to comfort our neighbors when they fall on hard times, has not been extinguished. However faint, our faith that such a government can yet be achieved continues to burn.

Sen. Obama is poised to hit the gas. He understands that faith, because he shares it. As he says with characteristic modesty, “I think I’m sort of a stand-in right now for the American people being interested in a new kind of politics, and to some degree maybe I’ve come to represent some of that. But I think people are tired of the slash-and-burn, take-no-prisoners, arguing-all-the-time politics.”

This Christmas, many concerned Americans are hoping Sen. Obama is planning a belated gift to the country in the form of a positive, constructive and hopeful presidential campaign. We’d like it even more than a Playstation 3.

May your Christmas and holiday season be full of peace and joy.