On Dynasties and Destinies ... Two Paths to the White House

The sun is out in full force and so are the ladies who lunch. A rainbow collection of women of every race and age has assembled in the garden. The place is movie-set magical. There are streamers and artwork everywhere, and the fragrance of flowers permeates. Gardenias and peonies and tuberose draped about the umbrellas and the tables, and even the trees. A single long stemmed rose poses on every chair. It is dreamlike, enchanting, but the attitude is serious and very much earthbound.

We take our seats early in a rare display of intention. We are all are determined to get a clear view of the day's speaker. We are not here for small talk with each other. We are here for big talk with a woman who is walking talking history in the making.

Michelle Obama is in the house shaking hands and greeting the faithful. She has set aside her job and her home-life as well as her doubts and fears to join her husband on the campaign trail. She has been called by destiny and bears the grace and poise a true heroine as she makes her way down the aisle to meet it. She is tall and handsome and as she takes the stage and surveys the crowd, her intelligent face gleams with emotion. She has not yet constructed any barriers to her heart. One look into her eyes and it is clear this is not politics as usual.

The first words from her lips confirm this as she takes us in to her confidence. Like many of the women in attendance she is self-made, transformed from working class to world class, through a combination of hard work and razor sharp instinct. Like every woman in attendance she endures her share of frustration and heartache. "No" she says, "A woman can not have it all and do it all and be it all. Marriage ... Motherhood ... Career ... that is just a plain lie". There is a round of knowing applause. We all know that even with the best of support and intentions, we live in fear that we are short-changing our children in the home and not reaching our full potential outside of it. We all know that in spite of all of this, we are the lucky ones ... we are confident that our children will benefit from the most treasured of American values -- opportunity. We all know that there is a huge and growing number of women out there with the same hopes and fears whose children will not live this most American dream and the injustice of this is almost too much to face. But Michelle Obama is looking it right in the eye. "Are we going to look at women in this country and say 'Handle it! You are on minimum wage? Can't get health insurance? You live in a neighborhood with poor schools and rampant violence? Too bad ... handle it'". That is just not good enough for Michelle Obama. That will not do. That is one of the reasons that she has agreed to this most challenging pursuit ... she is willing to be the first lady of the Untied States because we are headed in the wrong direction and our children are suffering for it ...and that just will not do.

She speaks for a very long time. She gives us all she's got. She tells us how they met, how he melted her resistance with his dedication to community and to truth and ice cream. She tells us about falling in love with him and raising children with him and every so often her eye scans the back of the room for a glimpse of the two little girls they hold tight in their hearts. She tells us that she had her doubts about all of this, but the times have called her husband forth and she has come to stand beside him. She has consented to give her life over to the chaos of a presidential race, because he is the one. He is the candidate we say we have been waiting for. He embodies the qualities of faith and fairness and forthrightness that we have longed for and long despaired of ever finding in a leader. "Okay" she says, "Here he is ... we are ready to pursue this and not for power, not for the privilege of being in the White House ... quite frankly she says that is not so very appealing" There is a big laugh and she holds her fists to her breast searching for her next words. "We are here to serve" and with this her eyes lower in a display of humility rarely glimpsed in these forums.

She fields questions and they come fast and furious. She begs us not to ask her husband to be all things to all people. She insists that in order to reach our goals we will have to compromise (gasp) and reach out to the folks across the aisle (double gasp). Like the man she married she is not afraid to tell us what she thinks whether or not we want to hear it. Like the man she married her fierce intellect is matched by a fierce commitment to fairness and decency. They share a common principle that one who has been given much is honor bound to give back more. This is a core value, a cornerstone of their faith and their union. I have seen my share of speeches and heard my share of campaign speeches, but I have not seen the likes of her.

In the news today I read that Steven Spielberg has seen the error of his independent ways and is joining forces with the Clinton dynasty. Her campaign has done an excellent job of putting the fear of God into folks ...even going so far as to state:

"You are either with us or against us." It is not surprising that Hollywood royalty has now joined Washington royalty in anticipation of her inevitable accession to the presidency.

Since when are we a nation whose highest offices are passed on as an inheritance? Bush/Clinton. Bush/Clinton. That is two too many Bushes for sure and a lot of folks would say one too many Clintons.

We are being warned about "electability"and "experience" by the very same folks who ramrodded John Kerry into the nomination. Their main weapon is inevitability ... the candidate has been crowned, so why fight it? They are back in force to explain to us foolish folk that this is how it goes. They are the deciders. They are counting on you to resign yourselves to this and get back to America's Got Talent.

I would like to remind you that we followed the powers that be down this road before and we waffled and windsurfed our way right smack dab into a a brick wall.

Electability? She loses in the polls to Republicans so paltry that their own party is in despair of their presence in the race. At the risk of offending the great deciders, I would like to humbly point out that Obama wins by a considerable margin against those same REPUBLICANS! This I also humbly submit is the whole freaking point!

Experience? To which are we pointing? Her experience in voting for a disastrous war? If you are looking for someone with experience in putting a finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing and then basing her convictions on convenience, then Hillary's got plenty of experience.

Me? I prefer someone who has experienced firsthand the struggles of folks who are living in poverty and trying to make their way. Call me crazy, but I prefer the guy who dared to experience the consequences of voting against a war he did not believe in.

We are faced with the real dilemma of following our instincts and our hearts versus the politics of power and privilege. If we really want what we say we want in a leader, then we'd best take a deep breath and dive into the fray. It won't be a fair fight, but that doesn't mean we cannot win. We have before us two very different women on the road to the White House. One is empowered by a dynasty ... the other by a destiny.

One would be president the other first lady, but they would both be the firsts of their kind.

Hillary has been preparing for this race for years and she is nothing if not prepared, she has been packaged and polished and put into place. Michelle Obama was not prepared for this at all, but she is rolling up her sleeves and poised to play her part.

I heard a story the other day that sums it up for me.

Someone told me that in the midst of the madness of Obama campaign's tour of LA this week, the advance car received a call from Michelle who asked if there was any kind of a park in the area. The kids needed a break. Maps were consulted and a small park was located and the motorcade turned itself in that direction. The Obamas got out and let the kids run for a while ... the four of them playing together unnoticed ... stealing away for a private moment in the midst of their increasingly public lives.

The image of this has stayed with me. A line of black cars parked in view with men and women standing beside, speaking frantically into their earpieces. This was not in the script ... this is not how it is done. And in the foreground , Michelle Obama is in the park pushing one of her children in a swing ... watching as the girl soars forth and then safely returns ... just a child in a park with her mother behind her. The woman is tall and impossibly glamorous in her black dress and pearls, her slender feet bare and very much on the ground.