On The Road with Dave

Howdy Folks.

It's been over a week since my last blog entry, and that has to stop now.

A lot has happened. My computer is fixed. It's down-time was one of the major reasons that blog entries were sparse.

My boss at my "8-5" job bought me a new cell phone. It's an LG Shine minus the MediaNet service, but still with a cool camera capable of all those "self portrait through a mirror" shots you see on the social networking sites. I miss my old circa 2003 Nokia that was built to withstand a semi-truck rolling over it, but it finally developed so many problems that it was beyond any practical use.

I've increase my usage at Twitter and have a few followers. The Twitter service and a Twitter user was the first to send photos of the recent US Airways crash on the Hudson River.

And if you didn't already know; today The United States inaugurated the 44th President.

The one thing that amazed me about today's celebrations, rhetoric, comments, commentary and news was not the history-making event in Washington D.C but the event that happened at my "8-5".

Whether my fellow employees voted for Barack Obama or not, at 10:45 CDT, we all gathered around a few computer screens and suspended work for a while and watched the Presidential Inauguration and Speech together.

As I watched the live streaming video via MSN.com, I noticed the video stop and stutter or delay several times and could only imagine the number, in the millions, of other viewers logging on and watching and the volume of data being transferred across the Internet at that time.

While the new President spoke of the future and the challenges ahead for our country, I realized just how far we have already come and how the future is now. We take pictures with our phones, we watch televison on our computers, and citizen journalists inform us of news as it happens through social networking sites and blog entries, even before traditional media outlets.

And even though, when our computers fail, we tear our hair out in frustration until they are fixed; they serve us well. They inspire creativity and produce just as much as a tractor, a steel mill, or an oil well.

Change is not coming...change is here.

Labels: Barack Obama, Blogs, Social Networking, Twitter

Make me vote for Barack Obama.

I'm a liberal. I'm a Democrat. It seems natural that I would want to vote for the new face of the Democratic Party. Liberals are supposed to be knee-jerk with their reactions--emotional. I should be ready, willing, and passionate about a candidate that promises hope and change away from the status quo. I'm not.

I need convincing.

Today marked the day that the Stock Market dropped over 700 points; the day that The House of Representatives voted against a bail-out plan for the Wall Street Mortgage crisis. Some are saying that today may mark the beginning of an economic depression that could surpass the Great Depression of 1929.

Here's the chance for all Obama supporters to convince me that he can make it better.

Tell me why I should vote for Barack Obama as our next President of the United States.

A few things first:

1. Don't use the words "change" or "hope".
2. Don't mention George W. Bush or "failed Bush policy."
3. Don't mention John McCain.

Remember, I'm a Liberal. I want to hear about some issues important to me; Health Care, Environmentalism, Alternative Energy, Education, Foreign policy.

Remember, I'm also kind of moderate. I still believe in The Constitution, free enterprise, and I just became eligible for a 401K program from my employer.

Can anybody convince me to vote for Barack Obama without using a "talking point" I've already heard. Specifically, why are YOU voting for him?

I'm a salesman--I can be sold. My problem is that nobody, including Barack Obama, is selling me on WHY I should vote for Obama. Yet, I get plenty of rhetoric on why I shouldn't vote for John McCain.

Give me some facts. Send me links to verify.

Somebody, please...make me vote for Barack Obama.




"Getting Political" is a semi-regular feature of "On The Road With Dave". While Dave is no political pundit by any stretch of the imagination; "Getting Political" allows him to stretch that imagination.

Labels: Barack Obama, Politics