Four years ago, the world was introduced to a newcomer by the name of Barack Obama. Many raved about this newcomer and what a breath of fresh air he was to the Washington DC regular cronies. No one would have believed that on the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream speech, this man, a black man, would be accepting the Democratic party nomination for President…the first time in history! Who said dreams don’t come true! They don’t happen fast but they are possible. All I can say is WOW. It had been “rumored” that Hillary supporters were going to force a roll call fight on the floor but instead Hillary herself asked for a nomination by acclaimation to make Obama the official presidential candidate of the Democratics.

And with that it was written, “Clinton ended the longest, and perhaps closest, Democratic nomination battle in modern political history as the Democrats became the first major party to nominate an African-American to be president.” Classy chick I say! Yes it was a political move to unite the party but can we stop being cynical for a moment and appreciate the graciousness in which she acted!

This Democratic Convention has just exceeded my expectations on so many levels. The women particularly Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton rocked their speeches and were still elegant, feminine and smart while doing it! Joe Biden on Wednesday and Barack Obama today gave excellent speeches that went at McCain with a “bring it on I dare you” message. It’s been said that Obama had 80,000 in his convention while the Republicans are having trouble finding 10,000 to fill up their stadium for next week’s convention.

Obama emphasized middle-class economic themes but as far as I am concerned he went above that as well to make a speech that will outlive this moment, he addressed America’s divisions based on wealth and opportunity, rooted in slavery and segregation, revealed in crises such as Katrina, forgotten in a politics where only the rich seemed to count. While he didn’t produce an argument about the essential public role of religion he did share how faith in a united America on the foundation of our forefathers could move us out the rut that we are in…(ok, yes a “united” America on the heels of talking eschatology with my son is a bit anti-christish but it isn’t him, I’m about 99% sure LOL).

Oh but what a moment, Obama’s story is like many stories in America, of lives and wages stolen by fraud and violence, of being shaped more by a father’s absence than his presence (as I was), of millions who died with their hopes unfulfilled, of millions who never abandoned hope. This is the reason I watched the convention proceedings, this is the reason why I cried in front of my son before the television as we watched Obama’s speech. Because as he said “it was never about him, it is about us”. Because if his historical journey as a biracial, son of single parent, can end in the Oval Office then perhaps our very own dreams, yes, those dreams deferred can be fulfilled. Faces of men, women, children crying proved that this man was the change “coming to Washington” not “from Washington!” It was a speech made by a man who is saying keep hope alive…again.

I don’t want to underestimate his moment — I don’t want you to either because it was also our moment. What a moment it was!

I don’t know about you but do you believe things will get better in the world? I don’t. The only “better” I think we’ll have is the promised 3 years of peace and bliss when the Antichrist comes to power. I know most people don’t even want to talk about these things, it isn’t popular and it sure has a way of emptying churches, which is why many pastors don’t preach end time messages…usually because there are “other” important things to talk about. Now, while I agree that there are other things that are important, I don’t agree that those things are “just” as important. Why? Because where you and I will spend eternity is probably the #1 thing we should decide upon, yes, because its our decision whether to believe or not.

So with eternity in mind, with my understanding (albeit limited) of what I believe to be true in the Word of God, I don’t expect political candidates to mirror my beliefs on most things. If they did, they would not get elected. Now, after all these years of a Bush presidency we see that voting based on what “a person says they believe” doesn’t mean a hill of beans anyway. This time around, I support Obama’s candidacy for President even though he runs as a change agent but his track record shows he’ll probably stick with the policy that ok’s abortion. I read this article this am and while I think it makes very valid points and I am a against abortion as birth control, I wonder what he’s thinking?

Does he want us to vote republican? Does he want us not to vote at all? Does he want us to unite as Christians (good luck on that one) and raise our collective voices to demand an independent candidate (next time around) that represents our beliefs? I don’t know but I just don’t expect political candidates who expect to get elected in a world that is progressively getting worse to believe as I do. Even before this election, I’ve always seen the political progress and the actual choosing of a candidate to be “choosing between the lesser of two evils”. And we already know that the popular vote ‘really doesn’t get someone elected’ don’t we? Hey some even believe there is a secret society “illuminati” running things.

On Obama’s way to the Presidency he did make history as the first African-American democratic nominee for President but what else do we expect from him?

“Unless Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama commits political suicide between now and election day, the Senator from Illinois is in a very comfortable position to win the November race against Republican challenger John McCain. A new survey from The Barna Group, exploring the voting preferences of registered voters who are likely to vote in the upcoming election, found that not even the existing strong support of the evangelical community will be enough to lift the Republican hopeful over the top. ”

Read more of the Barna report here and find out what’s McCain’s only hope.

“You’d like to feel like the White House is your house. It belongs to the people,” Lopez said. After pausing and grinning ever so slightly, he added “Brown people too.” Read entire endorsement here.