Why I'm For Barack Obama

Barack Obama image from: ObeyGiant.com

There are a lot of arguments being made for and against Barack Obama and John McCain. The reasons against McCain are detailed extensively in the posts below, and in the archives, should you care to read them. The case against Obama so far has consisted of innuendo, lies, attempted guilt-by-association, and lack of experience.

But who is the most experienced person in the race? McCain has been in the Senate for 26 years. He was also--as has been drilled into our heads endlessly--in the military, and held captive for five years. Those are notable credentials for anybody, and I do not care to try and diminish them. But what exactly do they show us about the experience needed to be President of the United States?

I've got to say, they really don't let us know much of anything. The office of the President is unique. Nobody has experience there, unless they've already been President. The only people who have it and are eligible are Jimmy Carter and George H.W. Bush, both well past the age of interest or viability. You could even argue--as she did--that Hillary Clinton had a leg up as First Lady, having lived the life of a wife of a President. It really did give her more experience in what the job is all about than any of the other candidates in the primaries.

The only thing either candidate has in the experience department is life experience. And John McCain has had a longer life, so I guess he gets an advantage there. But his very long life in Congress has also tied him into the political machine. And the GOP political machine is a rusty, creaking, eeevil device.

Casting aside the positives and negatives of both candidates, one of the strongest reasons I have to vote for Obama is the rejection of that GOP machine. All of the Karl Roves and Rick Davises absolutely need to go. The ones who are young enough will surely pop up again in the future, but they seriously need a time out. And the older ones, the ones who came back from Ford's, Reagan's and H.W.'s tenure will finally be put out to pasture.

Another reason, again outside of the merits of the candidates, is the Supreme Court. The court has teetered ever closer to a hard-right leaning bunch, and I simply don't like that. Roe v. Wade is not a pet issue of mine, but for anyone who counts that as an important one, a McCain vote would surely put that decision in jeopardy. But my view is a little broader than that.

George W. Bush already got a couple of appointees in there. Several others are ready to retire. A McCain Presidency might get several appointments to the bench, and I just think that would be a horrific idea. Justices are supposed to be impartial, but we've all seen that they are not. And Supreme Court Justices outlast their Presidential appointers by decades. No, there needs to be a more equal balance there.

But back to Obama. And I'll be brief, because I've been windy thus far. He's very obviously smart. More than that, he's smarter than me. He's calm, cool and collected in harsh situations. He doesn't blow his top like a roman candle when he's attacked. He's an scholar of the Constitution. He was first in his class at Harvard. He can focus on more than one issue at a time. He doesn't try to insult my intelligence (like with the whole sorry "Joe the Plumber" and "Drill, Baby Drill" memes). And to tie it all in a bow, he is not a Republican. That's enough. It's more than enough.

So, yeah, I'm for change. Change in direction. Change in attitude. Change in policy. But mostly, change from the behind-the-scenes, neo-con, arch-rightwing group of politicos in Washington. I don't think they'll be resting quietly. . .they'll be up to the shenanigans that dug up dirt until they found it on Bill Clinton. But at least they'll be out of power. I hope.