I'm Voting for Obama

As promised in my previous post, I'll put my neck out there first in what I hope will be a series of "I'm voting for [CANDIDATE] because..." contributions.

So here goes.

I’m voting for Barack Obama because of a lot of reasons, but most of all because he inspires me. I’ve written a lot on this blog about the importance of the issues and how they should be the driving force behind our voting decisions. I really do believe everything I’ve written. 

And so, make no mistake, I support Barack Obama for the policies that he suggests and his stances on the issues that matter most to me. I agree with most of his ideas for the economy and feel that, of the two candidates, he is the best equipped to handle the challenges that lay ahead--an opinion I personally feel was strengthened by last night's debate. I agree with his tax policies and his assertion that the less fortunate in this country deserve a break. I myself was able to graduate from college and graduate school almost entirely because of student loans and grants provided to me by my government. I also relate to his stance on foreign policy--that we should continue to invest in our military so that it is the strongest and best in the world, but that we should use that military more wisely, and only after we’ve exhausted all other efforts of diplomacy. 

In addition I have been asking myself the question Reagan asked when he ran against Jimmy Carter, “Are you better off than you were four [or eight] years ago?” The answer for me, in some ways is yes, but for my country I feel it’s a resounding no. And personally, I do not see any significant differences between Bush’s and McCain’s policies as McCain has outlined them during the general election.

So yes, I’m voting for Barack Obama based on the issues. But for me, his stances on the issues merely serve to support my feelings about him as an inspirational leader. Here’s what I mean. 

This comes from the epilogue of Obama’s book, “The Audacity of Hope:”

“That’s what satisfies me now, I think--being useful to my family and the people who elected me, leaving behind a legacy that will make our children’s lives more hopeful than our own. Sometimes, working in Washington , I feel I am meeting that goal. At other times, it seems as if the goal recedes from me, and all the activity I engage in--the hearings and speeches and press conferences and position papers--are an exercise in vanity, useful to no one.

When I find myself in such moods, I like to take a run along the Mall. Usually I go in the early evening, especially in the summer and fall, when the air in Washington is warm and still and the leaves on the trees barely rustle. After dark, not many people are out--perhaps a few couples taking a walk, or homeless men on benches, organizing their possessions. Most of the time I stop at the Washington Monument, but sometimes I push on, across the street to the National World War II Memorial, then up the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial.

At night, the great shrine is lit but often empty. Standing between marble columns, I read the Gettysburg Address and the Second Inaugural Address. I look out over the Reflecting Pool, imagining the crowd stilled by Dr. King’s mighty cadence, and then beyond that, to the floodlit obelisk and shining Capital dome.

And in that place, I think about America and those who built it. This nation’s founders, who somehow rose above petty ambitions and narrow calculations to imagine a nation unfurling across a continent. And those like Lincoln and King, who ultimately laid down their lives in the service of perfecting an imperfect union. And all the faceless, nameless men and women, slaves and soldiers and tailors and butchers, constructing lives for themselves and their children and grandchildren, brick by brick, rail by rail, calloused hand by calloused hand, to fill in the landscape of our collective dreams.

It is that process I wish to be a part of.

My heart is filled with love for this country.”

I actually find it ironic that some people use the argument that Obama is unpatriotic as a reason not to vote for him. It’s ironic because, for me personally, Obama’s patriotism is one of the main reasons I am voting for him. When I read passages like this in his book or when I listen to Obama speak, I relate to him in a way that I’ve yet to relate to a political leader since I’ve been following politics. When I hear him speak, I am so proud to be an American. I too have walked the path in Washington of which Obama speaks. I’ve also been to the birth of our nation in Philadelphia. And in those places I find myself struck with an overwhelming sense of both gratitude for the acts of those who have gone before me and pride in my membership in the nation they founded. 

It’s important to me that, based on what I’ve heard and read from him, Obama feels that, too, and makes me feel that there is indeed hope that our democracy can accomplish great things. 

That’s why I’m voting for Barack Obama.

Thanks to all who've contributed to the discussion so far, I hope this helps further the conversation.