My late father worshipped John F. Kennedy.  He was born a few years after the man, and was thrilled when someone from his generation became president.  He even had a chance to meet Kennedy when he went as a union rep to Washington for meetings.  Unfortunately, that face-to-face never happened, and when Kennedy was murdered my father mourned for days and always spoke of JFK with reverance.

Barack Obama is the Kennedy of my generation.  This time, I am a few years older, and I can totally understand what my father felt to have someone close to his own age on the verge of becoming president.  There is a connection that many people of my age feel to this man and what he stands for and what he hopes to accomplish.

I also feel what many must have back in 1932, at the depth of the Great Depression, when a man who by birthright should have looked down his nose at the general populace of this country and the broken spirit that was infesting it, took the helm of a nation that many felt was doomed.  FDR became the political rock of the 20th century for not just the US but the world, and I believe that Obama will be the same for the 21st century.

We need this man as our president.  Our democracy is at stake.  For my father's sake;  for all our father's sake, this man has to win.