Why I Will Vote for Obama

I wanted to take this opportunity to use my blog for some good. I want to tell you why I am supporting Barack Obama & I hope that I can persuade you to consider voting for him. I urge everybody to be informed about the issues and and vote, even if it's not for Obama, because it's so important! I literally could go on and on for days telling you why Obama has won me over, but I will try to keep this as short as possible. If you have specific question or issues you'd like me to address, please feel free to leave a comment.

I wish I could say that I had thoroughly researched all the problems and issues and selected a candidate that most closely aligns with all of my values, but that's not true. It's true of most voters unfortunately. Most people vote on some vague notion of what they think a candidate represents & some vague notion of how they believe our government should be ran. I realize that many millions of people will be voting on next Tuesday in 22 different states. Super Tuesday could be a turning point for the democratic nomination and I hope that you will take a few minutes to read why I am an enthusiastic supporter for Barack Obama.

The partisan political combative nature of the past few decades that has resulted in a stalemate in the political world. We have numerous problems that need to be addressed, including comprehensive reform on education, health care, immigration, foreign policy, fiscal policy, economic policy and social programs. For far too long, it's been a nasty power struggle between the left and the right, both sides refusing to work with each other. We need an extraordinary leader who doesn't simply look for ways to solve problems from a liberal or a conservative perspective, but seeks to solve problems from a united stance.

I am supporting Obama because I think there are things that are more important than policy positions and political stances. He has a deal of character for a politician, without giving into special interests or being involved in any questionable dealings. I'm not foolish enough to believe he is perfect or never made a bad decision, but he has shown a willingness to take responsibility for those and admit when he was wrong.

I believe in him and that he honestly wants a better America for everybody and is willing to work hard for it. He gives America somebody to be proud of and a President who many will look up to as respected role model and leader. I think we need a new, fresh face- a Washington outsider to move this country forward from all the bitter, partisan battles that have occurred over the last few decades. We need a President who has said "NO" to the old ways of doing politics, and who seeks to usher in an era of transparency and accountability of elected officials.

He has showed excellent judgement on several issues, but particularly by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning. He has run a very clean campaign from the bottom up and the leadership style he uses in his campaign will be reflective of the type of President he will be. He's not afraid to tell people things they don't want to hear (went to Detroit and told manufactures they need to do better on gas mileage) so that we can all move towards solutions on tough social and economic issues.

I know many people are concerned that he doesnt have enough experience, and I think that is a valid concern to raise. However, I don't think experience is everything and the wrong is experience is a bad thing. His experiences as a community organizer in Chicago have given him a great insight into the issue of poverty and how urgent the needs are for reform in our educational system. His experience as a professor of Constitutional law give him an intimate knowledge of the importance of our Constitution, and I'm sure he will work hard to restore the principles of the Constitution to our government that have been horribly abused recently. His experience in the Illinois legislature showed he was able to successfully pass several monumental pieces of legislation, by working with both Republicans and Democrats. Nobody is ever fully prepared for the job of President of the United States, but I think that a candidate past judgement and character are a great indicator of how they will perform once elected. I don't buy into the "old ways of thinking" argument that only somebody who is an entrenched, Washington insider is ready.

If there are any other issues that you would like to know exactly what Obama's positions are, I encourage you to check out his website for more details about anything & everything.

This Atlantic article is a fabulous read on Barack Obama, and I highly encourage you to read it. One of my favorite passages is better than any summary I could write.

But if you sense, as I do, that greater danger lies ahead, and that our divisions and recent history have combined to make the American polity and constitutional order increasingly vulnerable, then the calculus of risk changes. Sometimes, when the world is changing rapidly, the greater risk is caution. Close-up in this election campaign, Obama is unlikely. From a distance, he is necessary.

At a time when America’s estrangement from the world risks tipping into dangerous imbalance, when a country at war with lethal enemies is also increasingly at war with itself, when humankind’s spiritual yearnings veer between an excess of certainty and an inability to believe anything at all, and when sectarian and racial divides seem as intractable as ever, a man who is a bridge between these worlds may be indispensable.

We may in fact have finally found that bridge to the 21st century that Bill Clinton told us about. Its name is Obama.



Here is the video of Barack's victory speech in South Carolina that many people are talking about. I really encourage you to watch it, because I think it is powerful and moving.

GO VOTE!

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I can't even begin to express how excited I am about Barck Obama and how much hope that he brings me that we can build a better America.