That phrase began to sound hopelessly ironic about 18 months into the President's first term (note the assumption of re-election).

But it may manage to ring out once again, if only for a while, as Barack Obama is nominated tonight by the Democratic Party. It actually made the news that a group of astrologers at the United Astrology Conference in New Orleans in May all agreed that Obama would win the election, so I guess that is settled (note the mildly ironic sentiment). So let's focus on the nomination itself.

First, the moon will be void-of-course when Obama is nominated. In general, that wouldn't be good news for a candidate, but we can let it go - one meaning of the moon's void is "nothing will come of it," and that would certainly be a discouraging phrase. Yet actions taken with the moon void often have a kind of fated, inevitable quality about them. It's been decades since party conventions were really about dueling to see who would win the nomination - for both parties the decision was made months ago.

Then there is a sun/Jupiter square tomorrow morning, which will color all of Thursday and Friday. Sun/Jupiter can be great for inspiring us to be ourselves. Hope does spring eternal, and these two planets can really foster enthusiasm - especially for a leader, and especially for a Leo. Venus will also be gracing the President's sign as he accepts the nomination.

All in all, I would say that Obama's off to a good start. The sun/Jupiter square might get him to go a little overboard, or whip up a bit of exaggerated enthusiasm in the party, but that's not a bad thing in such a contentious election. Hyperbole is pretty much par for the course in politics, and sun/jupiter can make sound bites with the best of them. And the void moon just means the nomination was inevitable. As for the election...