A Trip Down Lover's Lane.

I'm intrigued by this.




Whenever I watch Barack and Michelle Obama together, I see an exemplary example of black love.

It's inspiring to watch two black people have a healthy and seemingly happy relationship. Now, I understand that I know very little about the actual state of their union, but from what I've gathered from speeches, Barack's books and observation they seem to have something special.

Anybody who has every been in a relationship understands how hard it is to stay together and that pressure only increases once you get married. There are a myriad of stumbling blocks on the road to marital bliss for everyone, and most black people believe that things are even harder for us.

Racism, discrimination, sexism and a host of other societal factors have combined to make black love seem like a distant dream for many people. We've all seen the chilling statistics about how many black children are born out of wedlock and how many black women will never get married. Shoot, many black magazines sustain themselves financially by frightening women into believing that their black Prince Charming does not exist, and then encouraging them try some white meat.

So, when I see two black people who have managed to make things work despite the odds, well it feels good. It's the same feeling I get when I contemplate my parent's marriage, my in-laws marriage, or all those old black couples that have sat in the pews of the churches I've attended. When I see those older people still together it gives me strength to stay the course in my own marriage, and to quietly correct the "woe is me" attitude that seems to infecting young people.

This may be unfair, but I often find myself contrasting the relationship of Barack and Michelle to the marriage of Bill and Hillary or John and Cindy. I must say, when I look at those three relationships, it jumps out at me that the Obamas seem to have the most healthy partnership.

The infidelity of Billy Boy is legend, and most Democrats know that McCain left his ill wife to shack up with Cindy. But, even if I ignore those past foibles in their relationships just watching the McCains and Clintons now I don't see the same level of affection and admiration that I see when I watch Michelle and Obama.

I don't know about y'all, but when I see the way Obama treats his wife, and the way she adores him, well it makes me more confident in trusting him as commander-in-chief. That may sound stupid to some, but in my mind if the person who has seen all your hideous warts and listened to all of your dumb comments can still look at you with that special gleam in their eyes, then that tells me that there is something right about you as a man.

I have no doubt that Obama is a flawed husband; all men are flawed husbands. And there are some who cynically wonder if he picked out his wife with an eye towards a political career because she provides him with cache in the black community that he might have never attained on his own.

Yet, I scoff at that notion. I'm sure Obama was drawn to his wife because of her connection to "regular" black folks, but I think that's because he has made it clear that early in his life he hungered for a connection with our community. From what I've seen, Michelle grounds him, she challenges him and, most importantly, she loves him.

It's a beautiful thing to watch.