Michael Van Winkle: Introducing Barack Obama, The Politician

Van Winkle speaks for a lot of us in Chicago,

Okay. Okay. You have to stop using “Obama” and “Change” in the same breath. I'm begging. Because when I hear that, I get shooting pains through my arms and I begin to sweat in places I didn't know existed. Needless to say, I'm getting concerned about my health.

I live in Cook County, Illinois, see, and we knew Obama long before he was a tingle in Chris Matthews' leg. You may have heard of Cook County; it is home to Chicago. And of course, Chicago isn't known for its inspirational politics. Charles Merriam famously called it “the only completely corrupt city in America.”

So the notion that a politician cut from the machine of Illinois politics, and specifically Chicago politics, could “change” American politics is frankly ... well ... absurd. And yet half this country has bought into that very idea.

Read it all here....