A Reason to Believe

Mayor Daley is helping Barack Obama raise money.

John Kerry has endorsed him.

Caroline Kennedy wrote a heartfelt opinion piece in the NY Times referring to Obama as the candidate who could be "A President Like My Father."

Senator Ted Kennedy not only endorsed Obama but chastised that other political family, The Clintons, in no uncertain terms.

Tomorrow I half expect to see that God has written, "GAL, vote for this man" across Barack Obama's forehead. That's really the only endorsement left that could influence me.

I've been a Clinton girl since 1992. Back then "The Gov'nuh" was a breath of fresh air. A Baby Boomer after 12 years of Reagan/Bush. I believed he would finally -- FINALLY! -- address what was relevant to me and my friends. Once Bill was elected, I felt that the sun came out again, the music began to play again, and the forest animals emerged once more, just like in an old Warner Bros. cartoon.

So it's been hard to close the book on the Clintons. I would never diss what he did and what he meant. But this past week, I've seen the Bill Clinton that I conveniently forgot. The thrill and attention junkie who creates trouble so he can get out of it. The one who wore me out by the time he left office in 2001, amid a flurry of last-minute scandals of his own creation. I realize that it's Hillary's name on the ballot, but let's not kid ourselves: She either can't, or doesn't want to, diminish Bill's star power and influence on her campaign. Therefore I have no reason to believe she'd reign him if she wins the Presidency.

These endorsements from people whose judgment and patriotism I trust, these endorsements that evoke not the myth of Camelot but the enthusiasm and idealism of the New Frontier, convince me that it's time to close that book. It's time for politics to once again encourage us to, in Caroline's words, "believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things." President Kennedy represented the Presidency as the pinnacle of public service. As soon as the Barack bandwagon slows down, I'm jumping on.

I'm a true believer. Not in Barack Obama just yet, but in the politics of hope and possibility as opposed to "the ends justify the means." I so want Obama to be the real deal.