A Few Quick Notes

If I had to pick a candidate to vote for, it would probably be Obama, and it is because of his speech last night. He slammed the Bush administration and the current state of the Republican party. He made many promises, and most importantly, he talked about America's dire need for change.

But... is it any more than just talk? Speeches like this would mean more if the candidate didn't have prepared remarks, if they instead had to speak from the heart. Sure, Obama's speech was well-written, but what are the chances that he wrote it? He delivered it, and passionately, but it was, in all likelihood, written by a professional speech-writer who was tasked with coming up with the things people want to hear.

And yes, I want to hear about change. But what I don't want is to hear about it because somebody is analyzing the results of a focus group and writing a speech that caters to getting the biggest popularity boost. I don't want to hear about it because Obama was told to say it. I want to hear these things because he intends to take these ideas and run with them, because he actually intends to change things instead of listening only to the big corporations lining his pockets.

So, let me rephrase my first sentence. If I thought there was a chance in hell that either of the two candidates would change something, I'd think that Obama would be the one to change it for the better. But that leaves us with the question, do I think that either one will change anything.

Hell no.