[raulduke]

Hi Slerbot and Kassandra,

Good points.

I've done my best to "do my homework" on Obama, but there are so many on both sides that are so vocal, that it makes the job extremely difficult as I'm sure we've all found. Unfortunately the loudest voices are usually from the most extreme opposite poles. So it can appear like the extreme "right" vs. the extreme "left", and the wild claims from both sides take center stage while other less fantastic claims are ignored. It's a huge waste of time for the (perhaps more rational) people in the middle who are then associated w/ the most extreme claims of whichever "side" they appear to be on, and discussions/debates, can get bogged down from get go, w/ these assumptions. I think it stems from our short attention span (as a society), in that we need something really sensational to get eveyone's attention (and hold it long enough for them to really grasp anything).

There's a few things that I've sorted out from all the bullsh*t that do make me wary of the man (no point in going into them here though), but that doesn't really matter, because while I did my homework and my conclusions are what they are, I can't really be 100% sure of any of it.

So regardles of what I think I know about Obama, I think what really matters (i.e, big picture) is that I absolutely do hope for the best for him, that he turns out to be a real representative of positive change. Best of luck to him because it's indeed a tall order.