Why I'm Voting for Barack Obama

Feb 04, 2008 22:29

In July of 2004 I was mostly unemployed and kept myself busy by house sitting and volunteering for the Kerry campaign not out of any particular love for the senator from Massachusetts, but because I felt it was imperative to have anyone in the White House besides George W. Bush.  It was the first or second night of the Democratic National Convention, and I hadn't planned on watching much of it, as I was looking forward to actually getting to see John Kerry at a rally right in my hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia just two days after the convention's close.

But there on the television was this man running for the Senate in Illinois.  I'd never heard of him, and thought I'd probably switch the channel within thirty seconds, but instead I sat there transfixed.  Here was a man that spoke with eloquence and passion, optimism and hope.  And as I sat there watching the thought occurred to me--why aren't we running THIS guy?

Now, almost four years later, we have a chance to do just that.  I know that I've been hesitant to fully embrace Obama this time around.  He was 2 on my list for quite a long time, though each time I ranked the candidates in my mind I was hoping that he would do something to put himself over the top and become 1.  And I have to say that the way he has run his campaign, the way he has pulled new people into the electoral process, the way he has spoken to the very best of American ideals and the way he has inspired so many people to believe that there might actually be a person running this time you actually want to vote FOR instead of voting against someone else--well those are reason enough in my book.  He's now definitely my 1.

First and foremost on his list of presidential qualities is his ability to uplift and inspire.  It's a trait that presidents always have in movies, or sometimes in legend, but very rarely in real life.  John Kerry didn't have it.  Bush certainly doesn't have it.  Bill Clinton had it occasionally, but always ruined it with his poll-based, election based, give the people what they want politics.  Hillary Clinton certainly doesn't have it.  But Barack Obama does.  I can't even say why or how exactly.

But when I watched him last Monday standing there with Ted and Caroline Kennedy, I could see that he must have something of what JFK and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King had.  A kind of leadership quality that doesn't take power away from people or make decisions for them, but encourages them to be a part of the changes themselves.  And I thought...wow, so this is what that's like.  To actually believe a candidate could actually bring about change.  An entire change in perspective, not just a shuffling of politicians from one seat to another.  Not Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton.  Something new.  Something inspiring.

I could talk about policy.  I could talk about why I like his healthcare plan more than Hillary's, or how he was right and consistent on the Iraq War from day one while she's waffled back and forth, afraid of being called "weak on defense" while trying to placate the Democratic base at the same time.

But the man is more interesting to me than a position on this or that issue.  A man who was born to a single mother of all of 18 years from Kansas.  A man who worked as a community organizer on the streets of Chicago instead of taking  on some high-earning corporate job.  A man who went from organizer to state senator to U.S. Senator to presidential candidate so fast that it seems politics hasn't yet had the time to turn him into a cynic or a pragmatic calculator trying to squeak by that next election with 50% + 1 votes.

Speaking of votes, though, is there any doubt that Hillary Clinton vs. John McCain is the only way there will be four more years of Republican control of the White House?  No one would energize the conservative base more than her.  No one is a turn off to independents and new voters more than she is.  Barack Obama brings in new voters and independents, and even the conservative base respects him as a person.

This weekend I watched a rally just down the road at UCLA.  Barack Obama wasn't even there.  But I watched his wife give a stirring speech that was perhaps even better than some of the better ones her husband has given.  And I thought this is a much better "two for one" than Hillary and Bill Clinton.  And you could just feel the energy from the crowd.  The rally for Kerry was exciting and pumped up to be sure, but...there was always this nagging sense of disappointment in the end.  We really wanted to beat Bush but it always felt like...this is the guy we're pushing to do it?  Obama supporters dont' feel that way at all.  And I've seen undergratuates here at UCSB who usually only care about the latest happenings with Paris Hilton or Brittany Spears actually talk about politics during a primary and sound excited about this "Obama guy" who actually finds a way to reach and inspire them.

And for those who would be excited to see a woman as president for the first time--I assure you, I do not have anything against such a desire.  I'm sure that I will see it in my lifetime.  But shouldn't the first woman president have gotten there on her own?  Don't you want it to be someone who isn't famous because she happened to be married to a president?  Don't you want it to be someone who doesn't have a massive network of party higher-ups behind her because of who her husband was?

For these and many more reasons, I'm casting my vote for Barack Obama tomorrow.  I hope that all of you who get the chance to vote tomorrow will do so as well.  Wouldn't it be great to have an idealistic, inspiring candidate on the ticket who is actually electable?  Wouldn't it be great for bringing a country together that's divided by race, religion, and politics?

Vote Obama.  Because we CAN have that kind of president in real life.

super tuesday barack obama hillary clint

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