I Am Voting For Barack Obama for President, Damn it! And Here’s Why.

   
I got an email from author Rachel Aydt, my former journalism teacher, the other day. She sent it to her “shopkeepers in the neighborhood, family, and beloved former students” (I am trusting the latter includes me) telling us she had made “a small contribution to Barack’s campaign,” adding “I’ve got the Barack Obama Crush that so many others seem to be getting these days.” But then, true to her journalist’s soul (she’s also a research director for a major magazine) she went on to question openly her choice, saying she was afraid she might be “getting zapped into a different kind of brainwashing.” I assured her she was thinking clearly. And here’s how to check if you are - regardless of who your candidate is.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out where YOU stand on the issues we are facing. The war, gay marriage, immigration, the role of government in healthcare, wage equity, social security, etc. Then you need to sort through the four (five?) remaining candidates’ positions, hit their web sites, read the mountains of information out there, and maybe create an Excel chart to plot your findings.

Or, you can go to Electoral Compass and spend a few minutes (it took me three) answering a few questions, then review the results. This is by far the best web application I have found for choosing a candidate. In fact, I wrote about these candidate-choosing applications over at 365Thing.org, a new site - in beta - I’m working on.

So, here are the results of my positions versus Obama’s:

Senator Obama and I disagree on several points- he’s not in favor of gay marriage, (I am,) but is in favor of gay civil unions. Most of the points of disagreement are matters of degrees. For instance, on the PATRIOT Act, I “completely agree” that it “unacceptably violates civil liberties.” Obama “tends to agree.” But we’re both in the same camp.

I want to stress is that, in hiring a president, there are many different yardsticks to use. The issues in front of us today are in front of us today. The issues of tomorrow will be different. Which is why character is as important as position. Of course I want you to vote for Obama. But so does Caroline Kennedy, who wrote,

“I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”

President John F. Kennedy’s brother, Senator Ted Kennedy, endorsed Obama, saying,

“With Barack Obama, we will close the book on the old politics of race against race, gender against gender, ethnic group against ethnic group, and straight against gay.”

There’s no question, among Democrats and Republicans, that the country is divided. When asked who is more of a “uniter” or “unifier,” Democrats choose Obama over Clinton. But Republicans choose Obama as the top uniter as well. We know that John McCain is the likely Republican presidential nominee. Today, the newest Associated Press poll reports in an Obama vs. McCain election, Obama would beat McCain, 48% vs. 42%. In a Clinton vs. McCain election, Clinton would beat McCain by only one percentage point: 46% vs. 45% - not enough to beat the margin of error. Just one more reason to support Barack Obama.

It’s time to make your decision, and then, as my wise journalism teacher did, take action. Tell your friends, donate some cash. It’s the least you can do. It’s the right thing to do. And it’s the right thing to do right now.

Tags: America, civil liberties, Democracy, Election, gay marriage, Gay Rights, liberty, Obama, Presidential Campaigns, same-sex marriage, The Constitution