sheep in wolves clothing?

For someone who claims I do not want to think about the 2008 Presidential election in 2008 yet (and it's true, I really don't. If only I could effectively avoid it altogether...), I have been doing an awful lot of thinking about the 2008 Presidential election.

Sigh.

Obama. Obama. Clinton. Obama.

Pass the milk of magnesia, please.

But between those two worthy candidates of the more liberal persuasion, I am, frankly, more concerned about Obama. At least with Mrs. Clinton, there is a transparency there. Not deliberately, admittedly, but her agenda is growingly transparent because we have gotten to know her during her husband's tenure in office and as a New York senator. We understand her. We know where her mind and heart are on issues and we have come to realize that, above all, she desires power.

But Obama is, for me, more of a wild card. If you ask me (and you did, didn't you?), he has a superior chance of winning the vote of the Democratic party when that time comes. So who IS this guy? Frankly, if I choose to believe the viewpoint of him as a radical Muslim masquerading as a moderate Christian as expressed by growing numbers of learned individuals, he poses a very real threat. If I do not, then the only threat he poses is a mild, political one - where it conflicts with my opinions of how the general American system should function. Because, after all, it is not politics but faith in God that effects lasting changes on generations of people. Politics is an ineffective servant and a hollow, charismatic master at best. In seeking to understand Obama, I endeavor to get to "know" him with my eyes wide open. I encourage EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US to do the same.

Know who you are voting for before you vote. Don't cast a single vote from an under-educated position. Please join me in my commitment to research the candidates until I can complete my ballot with the security that only an educated confidence can bring.

Toward that end, two books are on order and are headed for my home this week. The first, "the Audacity of Hope" was penned by Obama himself (I got it secondhand from my friend), and promises to be an interesting read. The second, "Now They Call Me Infidel", written by Nonie Darwish, exposes the agenda of radical Islam. She claims it is at diligent work within our geographical, political, spiritual, and familial borders - at work under the guise of compassionate moderatism. She warns against the violent, totalitarian threat this poses, which is being largely ignored, to our collective peril. I plan to be a rapt audience, open to what God would have me glean from these books to translate into my expanded understanding of the people whom I will likely be asked to make a decision about, come 2008.

Shoot. Apparently, I *DO* buy bikinis in January. Well, at least I try them on in the dressing room and think about what I will buy, when the world thaws out.