Stop. Look. Listen.

In the midst of my personal soul searching and self-evaluation, something has completely irritated me about the Coverage of Barack Obama.

While there is an overall buzzphrase that pervades all mainstream coverage of any campaign, The Obama campaign seem to be caught in a heavily watered down narrative that usually focuses on one phrase that usually connotes a certain skepticism on the part of those alleged to be in the know.

Surely you remember such hits as

Is America Ready for a Black President?

How Black is Barack Obama?

Can a man with the middle name Hussein get elected?

Will Blacks Fall in love with Barack Obama?

Will Whites vote for Obama (this one was before Iowa)

Will Poor Whites vote for Obama?

Will Hispanics vote for Obama?

Can a man married to one of those angry Black women be president?

Can Obama sway the SuperDelegates?

Can Obama win in the South?

Can he win in the West?

Can he win without Clinton

Can he sway her voters?

Why Can’t he close the deal?

Why cant Obama go to the nice Black Churches we see Bill Clinton going to all the time?

Wash, Rinse, Repeat.

Well…for the past three weeks the latest buzzphrase has revolved around whether or not Barack Obama has moved to the Center.

Ignore all the blather.  It isn’t about moving to the center.  It is about broadening the conversation.

Barack Obama has made a habit of speaking in broad and general terms about what he wishes to accomplish, sometimes ruffling the feathers of people who usually agree with him.

To THOSE people it sounds like pandering.  It isn’t.  It is leadership.

Since Monday, Obama has delivered thoughtful and provocative speeches on Patriotism, Faith, and National Service, all topics Democrats traditionally struggle with but topics that Obama clearly has passionate ideas and principles about.

These three also are issues that Obama is uniquely qualified to address as opposed to his opponent.

Patriotism from a non-jingoistic perspective

Faith as a tool for upliftment

Choosing service over self

Name a politician better suited to address these topics.

Instead of bitching and whining because the preacher won’t preach from your momma’s favorite scripture, why don’t you LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING…you MIGHT learn something.

Go ahead, I’ll Wait (Williams, K)

Real Talk in the middle of the night.

There are moments in your life that you usually look back on months/years later and say:

Yeah, that’s when it all changed for me.

Today was that day for me.

I am just over 700 days short of 40.  While 40 may be the new 30 or whatever random formula older rappers trot out to suit their own egos, my personal reality is that I have managed fritter away my youth stretching and straining to make ends meet at the expense of whatever prodigious talents and gifts God has given me.

This in and of itself, isn’t news.  What IS news is that I now understand WHY that is.

I harbor an irrational fear of failure, which extends from a lifetime of self-esteem issues.  This, of course, is a bitter irony when placed in the context of a man known to more than a few as snobbish, pompous, arrogant, and self-aggrandizing.   So, go figure.

Mrs. Ink pulled my card this afternoon and challenged me to stop ducking my destiny and to push the envelope and walk in my destiny.

Of course, she is right.  Of  Course I have been trying to make this happen for years now.  If you think fighting the power is hard, you should try fighting YOURSELF and the system in a no holds barred handicap match in a steel cage.

Honestly, one of the difficulties of Blogging for me is the insular nature of it.

I am sitting here pouring my heart and soul (or not) into this blog and Aside from a couple of REALLY close friends, I feel like I am talking to myself.   Then I realized, I am actually much more honest with myself when I actually talk to myself, so if I am going to feel like I am talking to myself, I may as well ACTUALLY go ahead and talk to myself.

And go ahead and answer myself as well.