Monday, October 20, 2008

A Blogger Gives His 10 Reasons for Voting for Barack Obama

Brian Bailey in his blog "Leave It Behind" (very nice blog by the way...give it a read) lists his 10 reasons that he is voting for Barack Obama. Lets take a look at them.


10. The historical moment

When Barack Obama spoke at the Democratic Convention in 2004, I said it was one of the best speeches I had ever heard. I also knew that I was hearing the first Democrat who I would ever consider voting for. When he decided to run for President 21 months ago, I was excited by the possibility, but knew like most that it was highly unlikely that an African-American with just two years experience as a senator could defeat the Clinton machine and be elected in a time of war. What he has accomplished already is historic, but it is nothing compared to what is to come. When my grandchildren ask me how I voted at this historic moment, I know what I want my answer to be.


Thank goodness this is only reason 10. It is just plain stupid. You don't vote for someone just to be a part of the moment, historic or not. It is weak. Sarah Palin would be the first woman Vice President...isn't that historic? Use your head and vote for who is best for the country not who is the IT for the moment. Part of our country's problem is that we live too much in the moments and don't think or vote with the longterm or the whole country in mind.

9. What it says about America

I want to live in a country where Barack Obama can be elected president. The entire world will look at the United States differently if he wins, yes partly due to his name and race, but also because of the clear contrast he presents to President Bush. We'd like to pretend that our popularity is not important, and obviously our national interest should always come first, but we as a nation are better off when the rest of the world sees us in a positive light and is willing to hear what we have to say.


I don't care what the world thinks. They don't run our country. The world is full of problems that they have gotten themselves into. I don't want to elect a President because they like a particular one. Remember...the world wasn't keen on the hick Governor from the backward state of Arkansas the first time he ran and then ended up loving him...well some of them did. The President, nor the US, up for popularity polls around the world. Europe hated Reagan as he brought an end to the cold war. The point is whether Democrat or Republican, how popular they are overseas should not concern us at all. That's not to say we shouldn't work with other countries its just that they too have short attention spans and are of "what have you done for me lately" attitudes.

8. The Republican Party

Political parties regularly rise and fall. Sometimes the best thing that can happen to a party is for it to be truly humbled, to be sent into the wilderness where it can rethink what it stands for and develop a new message for new times (see the Republican Party after Watergate or the current Conservative Party in Britain). The Republican Party deserves to be in the position it is in and could only benefit from starting over again. A quick aside: I don't think any Republican could have won this year and it is a testament to McCain's broad appeal that the race is as close as it is.


Ahhh...finally a good reason. I agree with this one. The Republicans have dropped the ball and if there was more of a conservative Democrat running, I myself could easily switch. I am not a fan of John McCain and I don't hate Barack Obama. The country is not going to hell in a hand basket with either of them. I just fear that we are slipping more and more in to a quasi-socialist state and need to reverse quickly. But the Republicans, Senate, Congress, and 8 years of Bush have shown that they have lost their way. They are no longer Republican but are a party afraid to fight the tough battles. They have become the party of big spenders and the party of pork. They differ from the Democrats not in their ultimate destination but in their slower pace to get their. Maybe the threat of becoming obsolete will show that they have to find their ideals and fight for them. I respect sticking to your principles regardless of whether I agree with the principle.


7. Personal identification

All of us like to identify with our leaders, but it is rare that average Americans can relate to a president. However, Obama's age, smart, beautiful, professional wife, adorable children, family finances (until recently), and love of writing are all things that make Obama the first candidate I have actually felt a connection with (as funny as that sounds).

Again...STUPID. I like him because he's like me!!! whine whine whine. Don't vote for who is best...vote for who I would like to hang out with. How moronic! If that was the case then who should the average Joe Six-pack vote for? Someone like themselves? Or how about we just break it down for everybody. Whites vote for whites, black for black, Hispanic for Hispanic, women for women, men for men, young for young, elderly for elderly, rich for rich, poor for poor, beautiful people for the beautiful, and the ugly for the ugly. And you people with the non adorable children...you know what you have to do. As for being rare...how is Obama's background much different from Bill Clinton's. He came from modest means, worked hard and received a very good education on his own merits with very little outside help, and eventually became President for 8 years. It's not rare.

6. Eloquence

The ability to write an eloquent speech and deliver it is a critical skill for a leader. Do speeches make a candidate? Certainly not. As a president, though, the ability to make the case to the country and the world, to inspire, challenge and convince us, is profoundly important. When Obama delivers a State of the Union address, or speaks to the nation from the Oval Office, his skill and eloquence will demand our attention. Speeches are a huge part of who we are, and they are worth doing exceptionally well.


Valid point here. Obama doesn't just speak well but speaks with authority. He sounds like he knows what he is talking about. This is vital for the President. McCain,to me, falls short in this area. I have never cared for his oratory skills. He comes across as lacking an understanding in a subject. That may not be the case. He may have sound knowledge but the ability to communicate that knowledge or at least communicate the appearance of understanding is critical as the leader of the free world.


5. Being smart is a good thing

How strange that it's left to the Democratic Party to make the case for exceptionalism (see The Incredibles). Obama is a very smart man who has surrounded himself with accomplished advisors. He is open to ideas from different sources and has proven himself to be thoughtful and careful in his thinking, almost to a fault. His primary debate flaw was been his insistence on being careful in his word choices and exploring every nuance of an issue.

Intelligence is not the same as wisdom or good judgment, but nor is it the character flaw that the Republican Party seems to think it is. David Brooks wrote an, um, incredible piece on this exact subject.


I haven't come across any Republicans that think it is a flaw. But there is a difference between people thinking you are intelligent and people being told that you are intelligent...over and over again. Obviously intelligence is important, but how do we really know how intelligent someone is? And as stated wisdom is supreme. Who is more intelligent McCain or Obama? Or does Obama "sound" more intelligent? Remember, we are more likely to think someone is intelligent if they are saying things that we agree with. George W. Bush is laughed at as being on the verge of utter stupidity but is he really? He graduated from an ivy league college, got an MBA from Harvard University, learned to fly fighter jets and became a governor and the President. Yet people label him as stupid. I remember hearing Larry Hagman (whom I am a fan...go Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie) call Bush stupid and I thought...Larry, what have you done the was so intelligent? You dropped out of college after a couple of semesters...became an actor...became a drunk...and had to get a liver transplant.

I don't know who is more intelligent, Obama or McCain. But I can judge who I believe is wiser based upon their plans and ideas and I...well I'll take McCain...but just barely.

4. One America

From his initial speech in Boston four years ago to this endless race, Obama has reached out to all parts of the country. I believe he has great respect for our nation as a whole and all political persuasions within it (more so than many of his supporters actually). He has spoken about the role of faith in politics better than most Republicans and attended a Rick Warren forum long before he was a candidate for president. I believe he truly wants to unite us a country and has resisted endless opportunities in the campaign to exploit our differences. I'm not so naive to think a new political era is coming, but I believe we can and will do better.


I don't care for this whole One America thing. There's no such thing. On every issue the country is divided and the populous that makes up those divisions differs with each issue. There will never be One America. The notion that there needs to be One America is politics as usual in my opinion. It's campaign rhetoric. The important issues of our past come from a divided country electing a leader (or leaders) who have a strong opinion on an issue. It is through their wisdom or lack of that determines what succeeds and whether the country unites behind them (sometimes after the fact). Think Lincoln and slavery, Roosevelt and the US involvement in Europe (later WWII), Reagan and the Cold War, Clinton and the Budget, etc.

On political unity, Obama rarely reached across the aisle and McCain has a large history of doing so. McCain is known to vote how he believes even if it doesn't suit the Republican party.

I won't go to religion because I don't know either of their hearts. They both profess to being Christian and I haven't heard of anything that would bring doubt to mind. I also, don't get the feeling that either of them are manufacturing a faith for the campaign.


3. The campaign

Obama has run a phenomenal campaign and proven to be a truly impressive candidate. A campaign is no substitute for substantial political experience, but it reveals a lot about a person and his or her management style. Bill Clinton's chaotic campaign filled with emotional highs and lows, hints of scandal, and the relentless pursuit of every vote hinted at the early years of his presidency. Bush's campaign showed his tunnel focus and lack of openness. Hillary's campaign problems were traced back to her lack of decisiveness and tolerance of infighting. McCain's campaign has also been chaotic, constantly reaching for a new message or line of attack and lacking a consistent theme or underlying philosophy. His White House would likely be similar.

Obama's campaign, on the other hand, has been more impressive than any I've seen, especially during the primaries. It has been incredibly consistent, largely mistake free, and innovative in its fund raising and use of the web. Its success is one of the most remarkable achievements of modern politics and it speaks to what kind of leader Obama will be.


There may be some logic there...but earlier you were stating that no Republican could have won this race and it was to McCain's credit that he is doing as well as he is. There are two campaigns here. Obama's was his to lose and McCain was the underdog. You campaign differently with each. The underdog is continually trying to find something to work which may come off as being chaotic. Obama's on the other hand was trying to maintain which requires a steady campaign. To judge either of them by this basis is naive. You have to see how Obama would handle a campaign on the losing side to determine this. As for McCain...look at his successful Senate campaigns for how he would run a campaign that is ahead in the polls.

I will give you that McCain has tendency to fly off the handle too often but though his reactions may seem impulsive his decisions are usually much more thought out. This is not necessarily a bad thing. He is passionate and you know were you stand but he is also able to be reasoned with. Obama, you don't always know where he stands personally because he has a lack of a reaction. Because of this he can sometimes come off as complacent, lacking passion, and going where the political wind is blowing strongest.

2.Temperament

The campaign has also shown Obama to be a steady force, driven and consistent. He speaks often of never getting too high or low based on polls or the state of the campaign and the past two years have proven that to be the case. He has generally avoided pandering to one group or another (except for a leftward turn during the primaries). Instead of Bill Clinton's somewhat desperate need for approval, Obama seems remarkably self-assured and comfortable with who he is. These are the characteristics I want in a president.


The campaign has shown no such thing. What he has been doing has worked so there has been no need to waiver. When has his polls ever been problematic? It's McCain that has had to adapt and even if McCain loses, he had a pretty good run at considering the polls for George W. Bush. The question is this...what would Obama have done if he was on the losing side of the campaign? Would he try a different tact or would he remain steady? And as for the leftward turn during the primaries you need to do a little research. There wasn't a leftward turn. He did make a rightward turn (though I would call it a moderate turn) after the primaries. He does pander to individual groups like most politicians...just look at the hundreds of billions of dollars he has proposed to all the different groups...that is pandering. McCain is not exempt but I don't think its to the same degree as Obama. This could also be because Republican crowds are usually OK hearing we need to spend less compared to Democrat crowds who want more spending.

1. When I turn on the television on January 20, 2009 to watch the inauguration, who do I want to see?

Even when I was closest to voting for Senator McCain, this question made me think twice because I knew in my heart what the answer was.

I want Senator Barack Obama to be the next president of the United States.


That's it? Your whole 10 reasons are based on appearance and how it makes you feel! That's your reasoning? Nothing about their plans for the country? Their vision? Their goals? What they would do? How they would handle the budget, the debt? How they will handle education, health care, our infrastructure, defense, retirement? In other words...nothing of substance...and we wonder why our country has so many problems! We don't look at the issues...we don't care how good the President will be but whether he looks good doing it!! Using your criteria above, you wouldn't have voted for Lincoln...in fact slavery wouldn't have even been considered since issues don't even matter...maybe they were number 11 on your list.


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