Barack Obama for President

Today former secretary of state Colin Powell endorsed senator Barack Obama for president.  Mr. Powell is one of the most respected Americans.  He served under both senior President Bush and as well as current President Bush.  This came days after Chicago Tribune, a right leaning news paper also endorsed Barack Obama for President.  This is the first time the newspaper has endorsed the Democratic Party's nominee for president in more than 150 years.

 What does all this mean?  I think it means centrist Republicans, who understand the gravity of the current situation have decided to look beyond the party line for the good of the country.  I will add myself to this list.

 After the primaries I was open to looking at McCain because of my impression of him from the race of year 2000.  I was torn between him and Senator Obama whom I supported during democratic primaries. I was in doubt until he chose Governor Palin as his running mate.  That just did it for me.  How, somebody aspiring for the highest office in the land, can be so reckless?  It was politics at its worst.  The events in the last couple of weeks have only reinforced my belief that Senator McCain does not put country first.  He puts politics first.  When the country is facing such economic crisis, the center piece of his campaign has become Senator Obama’s association with Mr Ayers.  

 Many Americans have doubts about the lack of experience of Senator Obama.  I am one of them.  However I have seen him in action for the last two years.  He has shown an almost infinite capacity to listen and learn.  He is not an ideologue.  He has the intellectual rigor to get deep into complex issues, listen to competing point of views and then make a decision.  It is evident from the way he has run his campaign.  He has shown a steadiness during this rollercoaster campaign which will serve him well in office.  He has surrounded himself with experts on key issues facing the country. He showed great judgment in the most important decision he made during the campaign in choosing Senator Biden as his running mate.

 To be frank, I do worry when I listen to some of his ideas on taxes.  I don’t like the idea of giving tax dollars to people who do not pay any taxes.  I am hoping he will address this issue as part of the bigger issue of fixing the current economic mess and not look for easy solutions like redistribution of wealth.

 I may not agree with him on everything, but of the two candidates running for the highest office, I will give Senator Obama my vote.

Passing Away of Tim Russert

Tim Russert, the moderator of "Meet the Press" died on Friday at the age of 58. Like Millions of Americans, my Sunday was not complete unless I watched "Meet the Press". The program set the bar on what TV journalism should be. Tim was fair, balanced but tough. For presidential candidates this was the ultimate right of passage. Unless you came on this show, you were not a candidate.

In the last 15 years since I moved to US, a number of famous personalities have passed away including three presidents (Nixon, Reagan and Ford), many sports figures, business persons, people in the arts and culture. In these cases, I did not feel the tinge of sadness that I feel with the passing of Tim. I don't know the reason for this but may be it is because I was not able to relate to others in a way I was able to relate to Tim. I feel as if I knew him personally though I never met him. I cried today watching Tom Brokaw conduct a special "Meet the Press" program to honor Tim. It is a measure of greatness of a person when people who never met you cry at your passing.

Tim grew up in Buffalo NY in a very modest surroundings. His father was a sanitary worker. When growing up, he imagined, maybe going to college and may be becoming a lawyer. He never thought that one day he will reach the pinnacle of political journalism and literally would become a gatekeeper for people aspiring for the highest office in the country. If you did not do well on his show, there was no chance you will go on to become the President. He took this job very seriously. For one hour show on Sunday, he prepared for full one week. It showed in the quality of the program. I guess it is a lesson for all of us that to reach the highest standards, you should do what you love and put your heart into it.

Tim was passionate about politics but he was passionate about life in general. He wrote couple of best sellers. His book "Big Russ and me" is about his dad. He was big time into sports. He was passionate about everything from Buffalo, NY. He was Catholic and evoked God often. He was passionate about the country. It all reflected in his show.

Today is Father's day. All across the country, fathers and sons are celebrating. I feel sad for Tim's father Big Russ and Tim's son. I wish them happy fathers day. I will take a moment today to celebrate Tim's life and life in general.