A Vote for Barack Obama

This week-end, Farm Boss and I spent in Medford. He went fishing with our son-in-law on the Rogue River, and I had quality time with our daughter and two grandkids.

With the campaign season almost over, I thought what my daughter wrote about why she supported Obama would make an excellent last post. It is okay to be against something, but it's far more powerful when we are for something. Here is what she wrote:

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Why I voted for Barack Obama

This year will be the first time I have ever voted for the candidate of my choice. My primary choices never made it to the nomination (in fact they were either protest votes or incredible long shots). I am proud to say that I voted for Barack Obama in the primary and the general election. For the first time ever, my vote is not for the "lesser of two evils", but the candidate that I honestly believe will be a good
president.

I took the kids to see John Kerry speak because it was an historic event and because I was very discouraged and dismayed by the direction that George W. Bush was leading us (As a side note, I would have taken them to see the President too, but we couldn't because we aren't Republicans). I canvassed for Kerry, not so much because I thought he was great but because I thought Bush was awful. Last Sunday I took the
kids to canvas for Obama because I think he is the president we need for the challenges our country faces.

I started out to write a lot of stuff about Obama and his background, how he is the fulfillment of the American Dream. etc. I wrote a bunch of stuff about how I think he will address the major issues in front of us - global warming, the economic recession, nuclear proliferation, world poverty and, it's related issue, terrorism. And I can send you all that stuff if you are interested with links to supporting articles. But when I worked through what I was thinking, I realized that the reason I voted for Obama with such enthusiasm is because of the kind of man he is.

Barack Obama has excelled at everything he's set himself to do. You may get into Harvard on affirmative action, but you certainly do not become president of the Harvard Law Review on it. Many junior Senators never get through a single piece of legislation. He's pushed through several big ones (keeping nuclear weapons from terrorists, government transparency, etc.) with bipartisan help. He took the gifts he was given and has made the most of them. He obviously works hard at whatever he sets himself to do. Look at how he's run this campaign. I've never seen one like it. Why would he be any different with the presidency?

He is an intellectually curious man and an extremely intelligent one. He thinks things through. I think he's a diagnostician. He looks at the choices and makes the best decision he can. He surrounds himself with smart people and actually listens, but makes his own call.

He is able to talk to people. I think that is one of the things that will make Obama a great president. Don't forget that he was a teacher. He can explain things to people in a way that helps them understand. That he is eloquent and able to move people I see as an asset. We are going to have to make difficult decisions in the coming years and we are going to have to do things that we don't like. We must have a leader
that can motivate us and bring us together. And not just us Americans, but the entire world. The problems that we face will not be dealt with on our own and we are going to have to work with the rest of world. We need a leader that is respected world wide and that can speak to the world community. Eloquence and inspiration is going to be required.

He is above all else a family man and I admire that. Whenever my children see pictures of him with his kids they say "Oh, that's just like Daddy." I agree. Look at these pictures. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/16/the-obamas-greatest-famil_n_132339.html


I see in Obama the ability to listen, process opposing ideas, make a decision and then pull people together to make it happen. He is calm, reasoned and intelligent, able to synthesize opposing viewpoints and make a logical decision. Read this article in Time about Obama http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1853025-1,00.html

In short, I believe he is the best man for the job. I think we only see transformational candidates like this once in a great while. Did you see Colin Powell's endorsement? If you didn't you should look for it on the internet.

I by no means consider Obama a "messiah". I don't think he's going to "save" our country. Only hard work from all of us is going to fix our problems. That is one of the things I like the very best about what he says. On every issue, he calls for personal responsibility. He tells us we are going to have to work. When was the last time we were asked to do anything by our government? It's about time.

I do not agree with him on every issue. I never do. It would be impossible for a candidate to share my opinion on every topic. I just think his over-all philosophy works for me. He's been painted by the Republicans as the most liberal Senator. I find that funny because progressive liberals think he's too conservative and don't like his stand on lots of issues. That says to me that he's probably somewhere near the center, left of center, but still center, and that is where we are going to find the common ground to fix things.

That's it, my endorsement for Barack Obama. Think about it.