My Endorsement For President
As I have written on this blog in the past, I do not believe we have had a good president in quite a while. In fact, Ronald Reagan was the best president in my lifetime, and he was mediocre at best. We as a nation are long overdue for a leader of great magnitude -- one who can help to end this increasing divide between us and also lead us into the right direction for the future.
Before I give my endorsement I'd like to express concern over where I believe America is headed. I think we are losing ourselves as a nation. I've alluded to this before -- we are on a path toward our own downfall. We as a nation have lost our way. You can see it in so many facets of our nation today.
It seems everyone has an excuse at the ready, but so few actually do the right thing. We spend more time watching celebrities self-destruct than we do watching our Constitution do the same. Companies, investors, teams, players, government officials, clergy -- cheat and usually get away with it.
If you've read enough from me you know I consider myself to be progressive. I do not believe that maintaining the status quo is healthy, and I recognize that we cannot go backward to some better time that exists only in our minds. We have to move forward as individuals and as a society in order to prevail as America should.
Looking at the relatively sorry crop of candidates running for our highest office this year does not give me comfort. For the most part, they are the same old power-hungry politicians who lie when they disparage their opponents and cry foul when it happens to them. Those in their camp only do the same.
Think about it. One candidate argued he was the better fit because he claimed to be for the troop surge before another candidate. Another candidate decided to call it a two person race, ignoring the fact that he was in third in delegates at the time (and remains so). Endorsing a rival of Hillary Clinton will net you an anti-woman label (read the NOW response to Ted Kennedy's endorsement here). Disconcerting is an understatement.
One candidate does offer me hope however. He apparently is doing the same for millions of others across the country as well, getting the younger voters excited and getting them to vote. He is not your standard run-of-the-mill politician, as I believe all of the others to be. He's Barack Obama.
The reasons I like him are many. He possesses the qualities of a leader -- the charisma, the ability to get people to listen. He recognizes his own humanity -- admitting his faults (what a concept!!) publicly is refreshing. He is intelligent. He has shown he is able to rise above the barrage of attacks thrown at him. Watching him handle Hillary-phile George Stephanopoulos on Sunday was wonderful.
Just as important as his leadership qualities is where he stands on issues. He is to the left of center -- a place I obviously stand. He is against the war in Iraq because that war is wrong, not because the polls told him to be against it. He is pro-choice. He believes in making necessary changes.
In addition, Obama is not like the other politicians running their campaigns. He isn't a poll-watcher, like Clinton or Romney. He isn't a W. II like Huckabee. He's not mired in controversy like Giuliani. And he hasn't been around the political block like McCain or Edwards.
I don't believe he can win the Democratic nomination, as there are far too many people from the Boomer generation that appear to be coming out strongly for Clinton. If he does manage to pull off a miracle and win the party nomination, he stands a good chance.
Either way, Obama is my candidate. He is where my hope for America lies.
Before I give my endorsement I'd like to express concern over where I believe America is headed. I think we are losing ourselves as a nation. I've alluded to this before -- we are on a path toward our own downfall. We as a nation have lost our way. You can see it in so many facets of our nation today.
It seems everyone has an excuse at the ready, but so few actually do the right thing. We spend more time watching celebrities self-destruct than we do watching our Constitution do the same. Companies, investors, teams, players, government officials, clergy -- cheat and usually get away with it.
If you've read enough from me you know I consider myself to be progressive. I do not believe that maintaining the status quo is healthy, and I recognize that we cannot go backward to some better time that exists only in our minds. We have to move forward as individuals and as a society in order to prevail as America should.
Looking at the relatively sorry crop of candidates running for our highest office this year does not give me comfort. For the most part, they are the same old power-hungry politicians who lie when they disparage their opponents and cry foul when it happens to them. Those in their camp only do the same.
Think about it. One candidate argued he was the better fit because he claimed to be for the troop surge before another candidate. Another candidate decided to call it a two person race, ignoring the fact that he was in third in delegates at the time (and remains so). Endorsing a rival of Hillary Clinton will net you an anti-woman label (read the NOW response to Ted Kennedy's endorsement here). Disconcerting is an understatement.
One candidate does offer me hope however. He apparently is doing the same for millions of others across the country as well, getting the younger voters excited and getting them to vote. He is not your standard run-of-the-mill politician, as I believe all of the others to be. He's Barack Obama.
The reasons I like him are many. He possesses the qualities of a leader -- the charisma, the ability to get people to listen. He recognizes his own humanity -- admitting his faults (what a concept!!) publicly is refreshing. He is intelligent. He has shown he is able to rise above the barrage of attacks thrown at him. Watching him handle Hillary-phile George Stephanopoulos on Sunday was wonderful.
Just as important as his leadership qualities is where he stands on issues. He is to the left of center -- a place I obviously stand. He is against the war in Iraq because that war is wrong, not because the polls told him to be against it. He is pro-choice. He believes in making necessary changes.
In addition, Obama is not like the other politicians running their campaigns. He isn't a poll-watcher, like Clinton or Romney. He isn't a W. II like Huckabee. He's not mired in controversy like Giuliani. And he hasn't been around the political block like McCain or Edwards.
I don't believe he can win the Democratic nomination, as there are far too many people from the Boomer generation that appear to be coming out strongly for Clinton. If he does manage to pull off a miracle and win the party nomination, he stands a good chance.
Either way, Obama is my candidate. He is where my hope for America lies.
posted by E-Luv at 8:39 AM
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