Election '08: Preliminary bet on Obama

I've done it. While this is not meant to be an overtly political blog, I find it worth sharing that I have given my first political contribution to Senator Barak Obama. I admit that I have not studied all issues to my heart's content, but I am excited by Obama's approach and maintain a slim hope that a US election with Obama on the ticket would move us a few steps away from poisonous politics and, as The Economist sums up well, flirtation with monarchy:

The dynastification of American political life is weakening America's claim to be a democratic beacon. These days political dynasties are usually associated with the young democracies of South Asia rather than mature republics. The dynastification of its political life also points to a deeper problem: the fact that America is producing a quasi-hereditary political elite, cocooned in a world of wealth and privilege and utterly divorced from most people's lives.

The tipping point (to donate) for me was the New Yorker article I read last night. Just having someone who reflects would be a hugely needed breathe of fresh air for US and global politics.

I gave my donation with reservations. I will always listen to my intellectual hero, Cornel West, who expressed some reservations about Obama's campaign announcement. I also find the myspace situation concerning, but not enough to keep me from expressing my hope for a deeper, self-reflective engagement in politics, which is what the Obama '08 campaign represents to this American living in London.