Why Vote for Barack Obama?

Election Eve... and I'm thinking I should post reasons why we are voting for Obama, following Obama's own example in the "Obamamercial" which focused on what he will do as president, on where we will go as a country, and in which there was no mention of McCain/Palin. It was refreshing and inspiring, and if you haven't seen it, definitely take the time to watch it.



One interesting thing about Obama's speeches in general, is that they are not easily reduced to sound bites and talking points, and, as this Newsweek article from way back in April points out, that is deliberate.

As much as the opposition tries to paint Obama as a radical, extremist, socialist, Marxist, and even terrorist sympathizer, he is winning because he is not any of those things, and in fact, he's a centrist. Of course, when you are looking into the middle from the extreme fringe, like many that try to paint him with those labels, it looks like the opposite extreme. It's all about your perspective.

People in the Middle recognize Obama for what he is, though: http://www.peopleinthemiddleforobama.org/
I think the real strength of his candidacy is that he does speak for the middle – which is to say, the bulk of Americans. Some of us are more left than he is, more green than he is, etc, but I think we feel he will listen to our side, AND he’ll listen to the other side, and he’ll likely make some compromise. I HATE the idea of “clean coal” for example. But I love the idea of investing for the future in clean tech, and really supporting moving in cleaner, greener, more energy independent directions. So there are going to be some things that I disagree with Obama on, but I still think he will make the best decisions as a leader for the whole country, not just the left or right, but all of us.

Not only is Obama the best choice for the bulk of Americans in the middle, he's also favored by the bulk of the rest of the world:
Why Obama is better for the US – and the World

Here is an excellent (and longer) Time article on why Obama is winning. The part about Obama's meeting with General Petraeus was especially telling. He is a leader, and a decision-maker, but also a respectful listener and one who not only knows strategy from tactics, but is a strategic, big picture thinker, which we sorely need in charge. Very good article, with excellent insights into Obama's character and leadership qualities:
Why Barack Obama Is Winning

I’m sure you’ve heard that along with most major newspapers in the nation, the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska’s largest newspaper, has endorsed Barack Obama!
http://www.adn.com/opinion/view/story/567867.html

And other reasons we are voting for Obama...

What Bill Clinton said:
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/10/bill_clintons_speech_at_obamas.html

And... what Colin Powell said:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27266223/

And... what The Economist said:
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displayStory.cfm?story_id=12516666&source=features_box_main

And... what Ronald Reagan said (and a former Reagan ad maker):
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/are_you_better_off_rev_2.php

And... what Tim O'Reilly said:
http://radar.oreilly.com/2008/10/why-i-support-barack-obama.html

And... what Linus Torvalds said: (yeah, that Linus - the Linux guy)
http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2008/11/black-and-white.html

(the last two are examples of why techies favor Obama by a very large margin)

Lots of great, clearly spelled out, thoughtful reasons why people support Obama. If he's so extreme, why would so many moderate Conservatives endorse him? He has taken the high road, again and again, telling his crowds they don't need to boo McCain, they just need to vote, for example. Not rising to the various bait that McCain's campaign has dangled repeatedly in front of him, accusing him of first this, then that - he has remained respectful, thoughtful, intelligent, careful yet strong, cool and calm, unflappable, implacable, "no drama Obama" and that, "my friends," is presidential.

Now Get Out And VOTE!



(The nerdy guy in the shirt and tie is my hero, Roy Zimmerman, backing up Laura Love on her song, "Yes We Can.")

McCain's campaign may self-destruct all on its own... And more comments on the debate

If you haven’t seen it, in addition to George Will, other conservatives are highly critical of McCain, mainly his choice of Palin, and they seem to be smart enough to see that she is completely out of her league and realize that would be a BAD thing for the country.

It’s so easy to get blinded by your own ideals – by the things we ~want~ to be true, that I have admiration for people who can see the truth about their own candidates.

LA Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-palin28-2008sep28,0,3440078.story

The National Review (that bastion of the liberal media – ha): “Palin Problem: She’s out of her league.”
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDZiMDhjYTU1NmI5Y2MwZjg2MWNiMWMyYTUxZDkwNTE=


And of course, omg, SNL!!! Tina Fey was brilliant, and she DIDN’T EVEN HAVE TO CHANGE WHAT PALIN SAID!!!
http://www.hulu.com/watch/36863/saturday-night-live-couric--palin-open

(You can pick your own video of Palin to compare: http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=palin+couric&search_type=&aq=f )

Debatable Thoughts:

A lot of liberals I know are commenting that they wish Obama hadn’t said so much how he agreed with McCain, or how McCain was absolutely right on certain points, but I think that was a very smart move, and a good sign, for a couple reasons:

Obama was playing to the undecided voters and those who weren’t comfortable with him. He showed, by giving credit and agreeing, that he can work with Republicans, that he is not some outrageous scary guy with nothing in common with other politicians (though, I know some of us would like to think he doesn’t have much in common with them – ha). By playing to the undecideds I believe Obama gained votes, or lessened fears, both steps in a positive direction. McCain, on the other hand, was playing to his base, and so probably didn’t gain any votes from the debate that weren’t already in the bag.

I think it also shows what Clinton spoke about this morning – that he is intelligent, adaptable, and can listen to other people’s ideas and incorporate them. Clinton commented that Obama’s proposed policies have gotten better and better as his campaign has gone on, which to me is a very strong positive – especially after 8 years of a president who, in the immortal words of Stephen Colbert, “thinks the same thing on Tuesday as he did on Sunday no matter WHAT happened on Monday”! One party, and especially one person, doesn’t have a corner on the good idea market, so it’s wonderful to have someone as a presidential candidate who can actually listen and recognize good ideas from his opponents.

What I think of when I think of what Obama’s presidency might look like is Lincoln’s “Team of Rivals” - some of the best and brightest who may also challenge Obama’s ideas and help him become even better.

That’s all for now...

Except:

Thanks for giving me an outlet to share my thoughts and news/humor bits I find enlightening, thought-provoking and entertaining. Most folks have replied saying “keep it coming” - but if it’s too much or you already see enough political stuff, please let me know and I’ll take you off my “liberal friends” mailing list! :) Conversely, if you know of other friends who’d like to be included, let me know – I tried to only put people on the list who I was pretty sure would enjoy/appreciate/have time for the emails, but I could easily have missed some!

Keep up all the good work out there people. I know some of you have been on the phones for Obama – here’s a funny blog post from a guy who did that and his experience – I call it “A Democratic Angel gets his wings” :)
http://tj.tntluoma.com/tales/sporadic-democrats