For the past few weeks, I’ve been considering voting for Barack Obama. Thought it would be nice to have a President who could put a full paragraph together without making words up to express himself. Thought maybe four years of an inexperienced executive with a vision might be good for the country. Shake things up a bit. The problem is, I started paying attention to his campaign and started reading some off the political blogs again. Not many, just a few. In the past two days the folks on the right have jumped all over Michelle Obama for a couple of sound bites:

Tues, Feb 19:

What we have learned over this year is that hope is making a comeback. It is making a comeback. And let me tell you something — for the first time in my adult lifetime, I am really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change. And I have been desperate to see our country moving in that direction and just not feeling so alone in my frustration and disappointment. I’ve seen people who are hungry to be unified around some basic common issues, and it’s made me proud.

Okay…I know that others have already beat this thing into the ground and some of the comments I’ve seen on blogs and heard on the news have been over the top when it comes to beating this lady up. Let’s just keep to the words she said. She’s most proud of us when we’re hungry for change. Hmmm. I’ve been proud of our country many times in my adult life, not so much when we’ve been hungry for change, but when we’ve faced adversity and come together to overcome it. I haven’t been excited about “change” since Boyo got out of diapers, and that was because I could stop changing. Regardless of what she was saying or trying to say, it was really a dumb thing to say if you’re trying to pull in the center or just right of center.

And then there’s this bit from a speech she gave at UCLA:

Barack Obama will require you to work. He is going to demand that you shed your cynicism. That you put down your divisions. That you come out of your isolation, that you move out of your comfort zones. That you push yourselves to be better. And that you engage. Barack will never allow you to go back to your lives as usual, uninvolved, uninformed.

Again…I’m not going to go as far as the far right is taking this, but come ON. I admit, that on some level, especially talking to a college crowd, it’s inspiring. Give the kids some direction. However (comma) on another level, for someone who wants less government in their lives, it’s just plain creepy. This isn’t JFK having me ask myself what I can do for my country, this is our president “demanding” that I shed my cynicism and “never allow(ing)” me to go back to my life as usual? Really?! Ummm, with all due respect, now that I’m a civilian again, I’m not that interested in my president demanding anything of me, thanks though.

Senator Obama is right. Words are important. “Hope” and “change” are powerful words. They’ve taken him very far. The problem I think, is that the Senator’s wife is giving us a peek behind the curtain of hope and change and some of us aren’t as hopeful or eager for that kind of change.