Three Reasons To Vote For Barack Obama In 2008

Beginning Friday, October 3, and continuing through Friday, October 24, I intend to be positive, and provide three reasons to vote for each of the four best known candidates for President. Friday the 3rd: Independent candidate Ralph Nader. Friday the 10th: Libertarian candidate Bob Barr. Friday the 17th: Republican candidate John McCain. Friday the 24th: Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

Barack Obama, Democrat

Barack Obama served three terms in the Illinois Senate (1997-2004). He lost a race for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. As the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Illinois, in July 2004 he attracted national attention when he made a dynamic, unifying keynote speech at the Democratic Party National Convention. In November of 2004, he was elected Senator with 70% of the vote. He is the third African-American elected to the U.S. Senate. The first was Republican Edward Brooke from Massachusetts (1966-1978). The second was Carol Moseley Braun from Illinois (1992-1998).

Interesting side note #1: Had Braun been re-elected in 1998, Obama would likely still be serving in the Illinois Senate, as he would not have run against an incumbent Democrat in the 2004 primary. Interesting side note #2: Had Hillary Rodham Clinton not moved to New York to run for Senator in 2000, and had waited to run for the Senate from Illinois in 2004, Obama again would likely still be serving in the Illinois Senate.

Based strictly on data from the Obama for President web site, the following are three reasons to vote for Obama on November 4: click here to read more

#1. Tax relief. Obama's plan provides tax relief for middle class Americans. Specifics include (a) a tax cut for working families and (b) simplified filing procedures: (a) "The typical middle class family will receive well over $1,000 in tax relief under the Obama plan, and will pay tax rates that are 20% lower than they faced under President Reagan. Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the Obama-Biden plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to file an income tax return." (b) "Obama and Biden will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama and Biden will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama-Biden proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees."

There is also targeted tax relief for small businesses and corporations. Obama's plan would: "Eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses, cut corporate taxes for firms that invest and create jobs in the United States, and provide tax credits to reduce the cost of healthcare and to reward investments in innovation."

I like simplification, and paying less taxes. Seniors especially deserve a break. Although Obama's plan does not make Social Security benefits non-taxable, his plan to eliminate income taxes for seniors earning less than $50,000 per year will go a long way towards helping them live the life for which they worked all of their careers.

#2. The Iraq war. In Chicago, I heard Obama speak against the USA invading Iraq. I had never heard of the man. He was an effective speaker whose sincerity was apparent. Frankly, I wasn't completely convinced at the time. I still felt anger after 9/11, and still had faith in my President, and especially General Powell, when he presented the Bush case before the United Nations. Time has proven Obama's judgment to have been correct.

A small quote from his web site says it best: "Our troops have heroically helped reduce civilian casualties in Iraq to early 2006 levels. This is a testament to our military’s hard work, improved counterinsurgency tactics, and enormous sacrifice by our troops and military families. It is also a consequence of the decision of many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq, and a lull in Shia militia activity. But the absence of genuine political accommodation in Iraq is a direct result of President Bush’s failure to hold the Iraqi government accountable."

Unlike Bush, Obama has a clearly defined exit strategy:

- "Immediately upon taking office, Obama will give his Secretary of Defense and military commanders a new mission in Iraq: ending the war. The removal of our troops will be responsible and phased, directed by military commanders on the ground and done in consultation with the Iraqi government. Military experts believe we can safely redeploy combat brigades from Iraq at a pace of 1 to 2 brigades a month that would remove them in 16 months. That would be the summer of 2010 – more than 7 years after the war began."

- "Under the Obama-Biden plan, a residual force will remain in Iraq and in the region to conduct targeted counter-terrorism missions against al Qaeda in Iraq and to protect American diplomatic and civilian personnel. They will not build permanent bases in Iraq, but will continue efforts to train and support the Iraqi security forces as long as Iraqi leaders move toward political reconciliation and away from sectarianism."

- "Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that America has both a moral obligation and a responsibility for security that demands we confront Iraq’s humanitarian crisis—more than five million Iraqis are refugees or are displaced inside their own country. Obama and Biden will form an international working group to address this crisis. He will provide at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find sanctuary. Obama and Biden will also work with Iraqi authorities and the international community to hold the perpetrators of potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide accountable. They will reserve the right to intervene militarily, with our international partners, to suppress potential genocidal violence within Iraq."

#3. Technology. Obama believes that the USA may be in danger of losing our traditional lead in developing and implementing new technologies. Evidence from his web site includes: (a) "A recent international study found that U.S. students perform lower on scientific assessments than students in 16 other economically developed nations, and lower than 20 economically developed nations in math performance. Only one-third of middle class physical science teachers are qualified to teach in that subject, and only one-half of middle school math sciences have educational background in that subject area." and (b) "As a share of the Gross Domestic Product, American federal investment in the physical sciences and engineering research has dropped by half since 1970."

Obama's plan includes:

- "Obama and Biden will recruit math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession and will support efforts to help these teachers learn from professionals in the field. He will also work to ensure that all children have access to a strong science curriculum at all grade levels."

- "Obama and Biden will address the dropout crisis by passing his legislation to provide funding to school districts to invest in intervention strategies in middle school - strategies such as personal academic plans, teaching teams, parent involvement, mentoring, intensive reading and math instruction, and extended learning time."

- "Obama and Biden will reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act, and increase resources for community colleges and lifelong learning initiatives to ensure our citizens can continue to gain new skills throughout their lifetimes."

- "Barack Obama knows that we need to rely on technology to help solve the critical energy and environmental problems facing this country. As he announced in his energy policy, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will invest $150 billion over the next ten years to enable American engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. This investment will transform the economy and create 5 million new jobs."

- "A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet."

Education in technologies for the future will help the USA thrive. And the time to start the foundation by laying the building blocks is actually yesterday. But it's not too late.

Next Friday: My choice for President in 2008.