Obama For President In 2008!

I suspect that you, like me, have had more than enough political information and disinformation thrown at you for the last eighteen months. Over the next few days, even more commercials, automated phone calls, and doorbell ringers will descend upon us with scads of specifics. So, I'm going to give you only gut feelings for my choice. Some are wishful, some are down-to-earth. Should you desire details of Obama's positions from his web site, click here.

On Tuesday, November 4, I will go to a nearby elementary school and proudly cast my ballot for Senator Barrack Obama for President. Why? Since I first compared all the candidates in the Republican, Democratic, Independent, and Libertarian parties, Obama's beliefs were the only ones that stirred my blood, and rekindled the joy I felt when I cast my first vote for President in 1972. Shackles of cynicism fell away.

Obama represents hope and change for a brighter future. He has fleshed out these broad concepts with specific programs and plans in a variety of areas: jobs; health care; environment; pensions; tax policy; education; and foreign policy, such as: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, rebuilding America's image, encouraging peaceful coexistence, mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation for goals both domestic and global.

Unlike his opponents in this race, Obama is a contemplative man who will look at problems and issues from a variety of angles. This type of person does not make snap judgments. Our nation does not need a hot-headed individual making ill-considered choices. Obama will have advisors who will not always agree with him. And that is a good thing. Having alternative viewpoints presented marks a clear break from most prior Presidents, both Democratic and Republican.

With apologies to John Lennon...

Imagine our families secure in the knowledge that: health care won't disappear on the whim of an employer's ax; a college education can be obtained without the resultant debilitating drag of debt; hard-earned pensions won't dry up when they're needed the most; and the economic engine on which so much of our lives depend won't lurch recklessly, destroying confidence and security.

Imagine our nation with a new sense of proactive, future-based purpose, instead of reactive, backward-looking responses.

Imagine a world in which alliances for peaceful conflict resolution replace the all too frequent tendency to reach for weapons.

Will we realize these visions during an Obama administration? That's for you to answer for yourselves. But one last gut feeling - Barack Obama is the only candidate who will at least start clearing the clutter and defining the mission's direction. It will be our responsibility to see that we reach these goals, and give a new meaning to the term "Mission Accomplished."


Next Friday: 2008 Election Analysis