Aspirations

Last night, our family watched the results from the Iowa caucuses. We surfed CNN, MSNBC, PBS, Fox and other outlets. It was quite fun. We were amazed like the rest of the country by the energy from these caucuses.

What was just as amazing to me was how interested Kathryn was in the whole process. Kathryn ran for 3rd grade class president last year. She was a longshot, but her tenacity and hard work got her to a runoff. She lost by one vote, feeling betrayed by a few friends she thought might back her. Ahh, politics.

So while Will lobbied unsuccessfully for a college basketball game and tapped his Gameboy, Kathryn, Dori and I watched the results on TV. K-Girl asked many questions and told me she wants a woman to be president, just not Hillary. I asked her why, and she gave a reasonable answer. She asked me who I liked in both races, and I told her who and why, as well as who I won't be voting for. Just really cool stuff for a nine-year-old.

At age 11, I remember watching Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford slug it out in 1976, while my Dad gave commentary behind his TV dinner tray during the evening news. Kathryn said last night she wants to run for president one day. "You have my vote, sweetie," I said, "but you'll have a lot of work to convince enough people." She smiled and nodded.

Here's my take on last night, without being too specific. Obama's victory was historic. His perfomance in a state with few African-Americans was impressive. Huckabee's win was also extraordinary. He persuaded and outworked his opponents. Both men have a way of disarming folks, and they articulated a strong message of populism and real change. They were the best with the dinner conversation topics. We'll soon see if the rest of the country wants that. Iowa does.

I haven't run a lick since Tuesday. I wanted to, but my busy week, in tandem with the cold weather and a slightly sore throat, put me OOC. I hope to run tomorrow, maybe a long run in the afternoon after the kids' basketball games. I need to let loose some energy and get some mileage on this slack body.