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'The Perfect Stranger' By Charles Krauthammer

WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama is an immensely talented man whose
talents have been largely devoted to crafting, and chronicling, his
own life. Not things. Not ideas. Not institutions. But himself.

Nothing wrong or even terribly odd about that, except that he is
laying claim to the job of crafting the coming history of the United
States . A leap of such audacity is odd. The air of unease at the
Democratic convention this week was not just a result of the Clinton
psychodrama. The deeper anxiety was that the party was nominating a
man of many gifts but precious few accomplishments -- bearing even
fewer witnesses.

When John Kerry was introduced at his convention four years ago, an
honor guard of a dozen mates from his Vietnam days surrounded him
on the podium attesting to his character and readiness to lead. Such
personal testimonials are the norm. The roster of fellow soldiers or
fellow senators who could from personal experience vouch for John
McCain is rather long. At a less partisan date in the calendar, that
roster might even include Democrats Russ Feingold and Edward Kennedy,
with whom John McCain has worked to fashion important legislation.

Eerily missing at the Democratic convention this year were people of
stature who were seriously involved at some point in Obama's life
standing up to say: 'I know Barack Obama. I've been with Barack Obama.
We've toiled/endured together. You can trust him. I do.'

Hillary Clinton could have said something like that. She and Obama
had, after all, engaged in a historic, utterly compelling contest for
the nomination. During her convention speech, you kept waiting for her
to offer just one line of testimony: I have come to know this man, to
admire this man, to see his character, his courage, his wisdom, his
judgment. Whatever. Anything.

Instead, nothing. She of course endorsed him. But the endorsement was
entirely programmatic: We're all Democrats. He's a Democrat. He
believes what you believe. So we must elect him -- I am currently
unavailable -- to get Democratic things done. God bless America

Clinton 's withholding the, 'I've come to know this man' was
vindictive and supremely self-serving -- but jarring, too, because you
realize that if she didn't do it, no one else would. Not because of
any inherent deficiency in Obama's character. But simply as a
reflection of a young life with a biography remarkably thin by the
standard of presidential candidates.

Who was there to speak about the real Barack Obama? His wife. She
could tell you about Barack the father, the husband, the family man
in a winning and perfectly sincere way. But that only takes you so
far. It doesn't take you to the public man, the national leader.

Who is to testify to that? Hillary's husband on night three did aver
that Obama is 'ready to lead.' However, he offered not a shred of
evidence, let alone personal experience with Obama. And although he
pulled it off charmingly, everyone knew that, having been suggesting
precisely the opposite for months, he meant not a word of it.

Obama's vice presidential selection, Joe Biden, naturally advertised
his patron's virtues, such as the fact that he had 'reached across
party lines to ... keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of
terrorists.' But securing loose nukes is as bipartisan as motherhood
and as uncontroversial as apple pie. The measure was so minimal that
it passed by voice vote and received near zero media coverage.

Thought experiment. Assume John McCain had retired from politics.
Would he have testified to Obama's political courage in reaching
across the aisle to work with him on ethics reform, a collaboration
Obama boasted about in the Saddleback debate? 'In fact ,' reports the
Annenberg Political Fact Check, 'the two worked together for barely a
week, after which McCain accused Obama of 'partisan posturing'' --
and launched a volcanic missive charging him with double cross.

So where are the colleagues? The buddies? The political or spiritual
soul mates? His most important spiritual adviser and mentor was
Jeremiah Wright. But he's out. Then there's William Ayers, with whom
he served on a board. He's out. Where are the others?

The oddity of this convention is that its central figure is the
ultimate self-made man, a dazzling mysterious Gatsby. The palpable
apprehension is that the anointed is a stranger -- a deeply engaging,
elegant, brilliant stranger with whom the Democrats had a torrid
affair. Having slowly woken up, they see the ring and wonder who
exactly they married last night.

Change is coming. That seems to be all the Presidential candidates want to talk about these days. We have been listening to the two of them promise change throughout most of the summer and fall but can we really expect to see any changes starting to take place this upcoming January when either John McCain or Barack Obama takes office or will it just be business as usual up in DC once all this hoop-la is over?

Change means that things will be different; that life with either improve or perhaps take a down turn in the near future. But the truth is, we never really know what the future holds or what is around the next corner. There is always something different to come and the next thing might be better or it might be worse; who knows?

Can one man, or one woman, make that much of a difference in the future that the world will change for the good? Does one person ever make such a great impact that they can make such changes to the way we live our day-by-day lives? It seems this is very unlikely to happen and, if it is possible, such an impact is hardly something we can expect to happen within a day or a month or even within the course of a year. This is, of course not something we can realistically expect to happen in a place like Washington, DC where business seems to take place in the same way, time and time again.

No, if we wish for change and if we expect change, it is not the politicians in Washington who are going to make it happen. They don’t want change; they want to continue to live their comfortable lives in the same way as they always have. If we expect change, we will be sadly disappointed by yet another load of empty promises brandied about by a couple of butt kissers who want your vote.

If we want change, it is the good people of the United States of America who are going to have to stand up and make these changes happen and happen for their own benefit. In case anyone has forgotten, this is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. We are a brave, strong people who hold the power and the will to make changes and to improve our own lives.

Many of our ancestors came to this land because they were dissatisfied with life in the land of their births. They left the old homeland and the property of their fathers and their father’s fathers in order to find their dreams in a newly developing land which offered the freedom and the ability to stand upon their own two feet and to create a life for themselves out of a bare wilderness. They came as pilgrims and adventurers; they came to build cities and towns and farms. They became frontiers people and pioneers who faced grave dangers in order to build up this country, to make it a vast nation peopled by a diverse population.

When they didn’t like what life was handing them, they pushed on; they changed their lives to accommodate their needs and their desires. They never allowed their situation to hold them back or to keep them from their dreams. These people were strong and brave and lived by their own abilities and their own intelligence.

If we want change, it is up to us to make it. It is time for each and every one of us to take stock of our lives, to decide what is right for us and what is wrong and what has to be done to make improvements. If we don’t like what’s going on in our lives, we are the ones to decide what the next move is. If we don’t like the way we are treated in the workplace, it is up to us to decide whether we want to stay there or not. If we don’t like the way our children are being raised, it is up to us to change the way we are doing it. If we don’t like how banks are doing business or how the retailers are doing business, we don’t do business with them; we find another way or find another place.

As Americans, we don’t expect help from anyone and we don’t ask for anyone’s help. We help ourselves and stop being dependant on government or the boss or the banks for help that we can ill-afford. As Americans, we don’t whine and cry and moan that we can’t. We are Americans and no matter what is around the next bend, we can face it and we can conquer it. WE CAN DO IT, should be our motto.

This is not only the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, it is a place of Independence. Afterall, this country was based on independence and freedom but if we allow ourselves to be dependent on government and bosses and banks, the fundamentals of our great country are lost to one and all.