This Thanksgiving holiday, millions of Americans will hit the polls to vote for their 44th president. They'll stand in long lines, wait in the freezing cold clutching hot mochas, chat with their friends on their new 3G iPhones and vote President Obama, or President McCain into office. He (or he) will inherit an almost bankrupt social security fund, a war in Iraq, record-high gas prices, a credit crisis, mounting fear of retirement, increased costs of education, more homeless people, 78 Million retiring baby-boomers, more poor people and a host of other challenges.

How he (or he) deals with his inherited mess will dictate how the rest of the world will operate for the next 4 (or 8) years. Coincidentally, I am from "the rest of the world". As a citizen of Kenya, I've realized that it's important that I care who the next president of the United States is- I may be related to him! But more importantly, it matters what he stands for, whether he will stick with what he promised and what effect his presidency will have on Africans living in Africa, and those in the diaspora.

I created this lens as part of Your Platform- a project that will stage a political throw-down on Squidoo. We are made up of 10 or so marketing interns from all over the world. We all stand for different things. What unites us is that we actually stand for something.

As for me, I stand for peace, equality, justice, and fairness. This is My Platform.

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato Politicians are people who, when they see light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy some more tunnel. ~John Quinton I have come to the conclusion that politics is too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. ~Charles de Gaulle I truly believe that that is going to take an individual that has testicular fortitude. ~Paul Gibson"

...is education. My father has a saying- attain your highest at your earliest. Your highest is whatever you think it is- working for the best company you can think of, getting a PhD by the time you're 22, traveling the world and getting paid to do it, reading 100 books a month on the financial policies of third-world countries, painting with chocolate, designing award-winning buildings, tweezing the best eyebrow, producing a remarkable television show or making the lives of the homeless that much more livable. It's about doing what you are great at, and not what others tell you you're great at. Education is what expands your IQ- your emotional, financial, physical, social, material and mental IQ. Is your education system doing that for you?

One of my closest friends was deployed to Iraq. He was there for 2 years or so. From what I heard, life in Iraq is not a bed of roses. It's not even a bed at all. My heart broke when I heard what he went through. He won't admit it, but it happened to be one of the worst experiences of his life. I agree.

Sometimes, children die. It's life- we were not meant to stay alive forever. We were meant to go through life learning, living and loving. Who are we to say that a baby does not have the same rights? What I can't understand is how some people will do anything and everything to save a stray dog on a freeway- they'll stop traffic to let the dog cross, they'll park their car on the side of the freeway, grab the mangy mutt and take it to a vet, get it all the shots it needs, take it home and feed it beef and chicken, buy it a toothbrush with beef-flavoured toothpaste, get it a cute Louis Vuiton carry-bag for $1000, get it a cute little cushion to lay on, take it for walks and pick up its poop, wipe it's behind with wet wipes, get the Dog Whisperer to visit if they suspect their pooch has some psychological issues... and abort their babies. Or turn a blind eye to the young kids who are left on the side of a road, or at fire stations or at random hospitals. I hate abortion and America's foster care system.

...I'll be wealthy. One day, I'll own businesses all across the world. One day I'll have kids, a dog, maybe two cats and a beautiful home in the suburbs. One day I'll be employed. One day, I'll need to go see a doctor. One day, I'll get my doctorate degree in sports science. One day I'll drive a car on smooth roads. One day, I'll be privileged enough to be elected as a mayor. One day I'll send my kids to public school. One day I'll own a major international conglomerate of companies. One day I'll import flowers from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. One day I'll sign a multi-million dollar shipping deal with Japan. One day I'll send my children to fight a war. One day I'll spend billions a day supporting that war. One day I'll compose a sonnet. One day I'll write a book and Oprah will talk about it. One day I'll drill for oil in Nigeria, process it in France and sell it back to Africans at inflated prices. One day I'll do the same for America. One day I'll build towering skyscrapers in the driest places on the planet. One day I'll send a spaceship into the moon rather than feed the millions of homeless people that surround me. One day, I'll marry my best friend- we've been close since we met in the girls bathroom twelve years ago. One day I'll hire 1500 Indians to be my customer service department for the fraction of the price I'd pay 1500 Americans. One day I'll travel to Oslo and pay 18 times as much for a gallon of gas than I would in Venezuela...

One day...

Which candidate will usher in your "one day"?