Proud to Vote Democratic This Year
October 30th, 2008I’ve received a lot of email asking me to stop linking to those politicians I disagree with and to write more about the politicians with which I agree.
I linked to an endorsement by The New Yorker and quoted a couple of paragraphs. That pretty much is exactly how I feel.
Mr. Obama knows that he is a relative newcomer. His choice of Vice President proves that he wanted to balance the ticket with somebody who has strengths in areas where Senator Obama may be less strong. I’m not sure that Obama thought he’d get the nomination when he started his campaign. This election has been running for a couple of years now and the primary season on the Democratic side was brutal. Battles like that put on display how a candidate will respond when in office.
Following the conventions, the craziest stuff has been said about Obama. I’ve never seen so many different and intensely personal attacks in one cycle. How Obama has responded has been, for lack of a better term, presidential.
There are several memes coming from conservatives: Terrorist! Marxist! Socialist! Deficit Spender! These are all irresponsible and if you compare the kinds of things the Obama campaign has gotten wrong versus right on a site like factcheck.org, he has run a much cleaner, better organized campaign than his opponents. He hasn’t resorted to name-calling or personal attacks.
Is Obama or the party perfect? No. No candidate is ever perfect. There is no such thing. But I can look past the imperfections much more easily this cycle. I like that Obama taught constitutional law. Especially given the dangerous ground the Bush/Cheney administration has trod.
I’m not going to lie. My main reason for voting Obama/Biden is that I feel like they’ve got what it takes to put aside the name calling and childish part of politics and really move this country forward. My inner ideologist loves the fact that Obama speaks in a calm, educated way and dares to use words like “hope”. We could use some hope about now. o
Tags: 2008 election, 2008 presidential election, Biden, obama, obama/biden, politics
Did Obama teach a class on Constitutional Law? I didn’t know that – I know Biden did, because my husband took his class a couple of years ago.
Faydean, as for Obama being ’scary’ for ’some reason you can’t put your finger on’ – I have to say that I find McCain’s well-known erraticism and temper are far more frightening to me than someone who has consistently shown measured, thoughtful decision-making time and again. Personality is significant and we’re all entitled to listen to our ‘gut’ instincts – but there is no basis for your assessment other than that so you can’t expect others to change their minds with you.
Example of Obama’s temperment: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1853025,00.html?iid=digg_share
@dross
“I’m voting against Obama because I truly, sincerely believe that his policies will lead us in the wrong direction.”
Which policies? Which direction is the wrong direction? And who exactly is it a wrong direction for?
I remain puzzled at anyone who would vote for the ill tempered McCain.
I’m still trying to find someone to explain why McCain would be a better choice for the US.
Rich
@ Becky and Rich, nice responses. @Faydean, why do you assume every single supporter of Obama doesn’t not look at substance when deciding for whom we shall vote? I’ve read all of his positions thoroughly and for the most part, I agree with his plans and positions. He is pro-choice. He is the first nominee to be endorsed by the HSUS. He has a far more in-depth grasp of politics in the Middle East and has picked a VP with far far far more knowledge than McCain’s choice for VP. His plans for investing in alternative energy to help create jobs is what I’ve thought all along living in an old steel town. I will say that I do not think he is the Messiah, or a Rock Star, or whatever you think we supporters feel about him. He is a politician who can inspires thousands to do better in their local communities. He can talk about social movements and know what that means. After eight years of the biggest political clusterf*ck, the U.S. needs a leader who can inspire, not as a deity, but as human being.
Finally I’ll say that when I saw him speak in my town at the university where my husband works, thousands turned out. I did not feel like standing up and yelling Amen! or throwing my bra at him. I felt motivated to do better for my community and for my clients. One of my friends who is from a family of lifelong republicans came with me to seem him speak. At one point, a man on Social Security Disability asked what would Obama do for him when he survives on such a low income. Obama turned the question around and asked what could he do for himself. He continued to discuss in detail disability benefits and what individuals can do to find ways to improve their situations. Honestly I cannot remember everything he said in detail but both my friend and I agreed that this is the type of discussion that needs to happen and Obama is not afraid to make these conversation happen.
I continue to be baffled by people whose reservations about Obama are that “we don’t know enough about him” and/or that, to quote @faydean, “there’s some not right…I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s just there. How I could see it and so many others not, I have no clue.”
First, what is it that people who feel they don’t know enough about Obama want to know? He’s been very specific about his policies & plans. Those are all available on his website, and have been heavily investigated, analyzed and criticized in the blogosphere and mainstream media in the 20+months that he’s been campaigning. If you don’t agree with them, fine, but don’t say he’s all generalities and no specifics. That just reveals that you’re making gut-level judgments without doing any homework, which is the very thing you accuse Obama supporters of doing. Your projection of your own issues onto people who disagree with you is all too apparent, and neatly summarized in the @faydean quote above.
Secondly, saying “there’s just something I don’t like – I can’t put my finger on it and I can’t believe so many others can’t see it” is another good indicator that whatever or whoever it is you don’t like has more to do with you and less to do with the object of your dislike. That’s why so many others can’t see it; we’re not you. If you spent any time examining your dislike, my hunch is that you’d not only be able to put your finger on it, you’d be able to give it a high five. And, in @faydean’s case, given your propensity for verbosity, if you really wanted to know what it is you dislike about Obama, and if you took the time to figure it out, you could probably go on about it in book length. That is, if what it comes down to is something you’d be bold enough to say.
Jon,
This response is just pathetic (and pretty much the ad hominem you accused me of, but I digress). Not in my life…my entire life…would I ever give credence to some geek term used for Usenet and memes. I know you are completely immersed in that stuff…it’s your livelihood, but give me a major break.
Some tech nerd comes up with a satrical line of crap regarding debating and you think I will go, “Awe man…I feel like one big dork now. He wins this argument.” Not so much.
Get YOUR head out of the Net’s arse for a while please, read the Time piece and respond in a mature manner that addresses the facts that:
1) Germans voted Hitler into power after years of economic crisis very similiar to what we are in now
2) There was a whole contigent of people at the time that kept saying that there was something not good about Hitler’s motivations…that there was evidence of an underlying agenda and that he was simply not portraying himself in a true manner, but only to gain favor. But because of his cult of personality, they were ignored.
3) That despite the growing evidence of his intentions, Germans blindly followed him due to their own desperation.
And lastly, give me one good argument as to why that could never happen here…besides some idealic notion that this country is completely immune to such things, which is complete and utter bullshit…she says invoking (I’m sure there’s some goober usenet term for it too) 9/11 or even Pearl Harbor, to show otherwise. We have been vulnerable to those horrible, outright attacks on our own shores, yet you think the enemy could just never, ever come from within? Nice dreamworld you live in. I guess I should vote Obama, I’d like to take a vacation there myself.
Hell, I’ll give you this…let Obama be a senator for at least 4 to 8 more years, prove himself against the tide of evidence showing just how radical he really is…let him run again. I’ll consider giving him my vote. But not now…not with this depth of uncertainty and inexperience, not in a time where our nation is under such stresses and turmoil. It’s not a bad thing to run again. McCain did it. I’m sure Hillary will do it. Gore ran more than once. If he’s as honorable as you think he is, then let him prove himself as a legislator longer and show that he isn’t this man to be feared. Because, right now, he’s not given me one reason to believe isn’t that man. Not one. He can buy prime time television, entire dish network channels, spend a trillion dollars, have every frigin’ celebrity living in Hollywood endorse him, smile and nod to me however many times he wants, and tell me just what he thinks I want to hear…and I still would not trust the man.
He’s spent his entire life pursuing, studying and writing about radical views and beliefs that I do not subscribe to and will never subscribe too…no matter if I’m pro-choice, pro- gay marriage, pro- environment. His OWN words, time and again, the ones his supporters seem to dismiss over and over, are the reason. HE is the one to make me not trust him. Not FoxNews or the GOP or anything else. To listen to him say one thing and then completely contradict himself once he’s called out on it, due primarily to his own hunger for this office, is appalling. It’s not presidential. It’s not anything other than a con. Bottom line. And his reaction when anyone opposes him…just today throwing off respected journalists under the guise of “no more room” on his campaign plane. Oh please…all three were from papers who endorsed McCain. Hell, he doesn’t even try and hide his unethical practices regarding the media now…banning stations that dare speak against his campaign. Um, hello, totalitarian rule!
I’m sure you’ll dismiss it, saying he had just cause. And you would be flat out wrong. There is no cause for a public official locking out journalists. NONE. The profession exists to vet public officials for the sake of us as citizens.
I never said Bush wasn’t a con man. I knew it back in 2000 and it turned out to be true. Great. Right once. I hope to hell I’m wrong this time. Bush has done enough damage to the country, sure. But Obama could possibly do a whole different kind of damage.
He said himself that he wasn’t experienced enough…that he wanted to learn more before running. But then, as he always does, he changed his mind and ran.
Why? I think due mostly to his arrogance. You can’t see it. I can. Not saying you’re dumb for that or whatever. I’m just saying that for whatever reason the man reads compleletly different to each of us. Now why we both saw Bush the same way and don’t Obama, I don’t know.
There was a very interesting interview he did with Charles Gibson earlier this year following a speech he gave to AIPAC where he swore that “Jerusaleum will remain the capital of Israel and must remain undivided,” only to hours later change his stance under pressure from Palestinian groups. In the interview with Gibson he was called out for being a “rooky” due to his inability to stick to an issue or give a declarative statement that he can support when he gets oppositional reaction. That is NOT a man ready to lead this country…not in the least. I actually felt a bit bad for chastising Gibson for his Palin interview, because he was not light on Obama in this interview, which apparently either no one saw, cared about or forgot. I didn’t see it originally. But seeing it now only firms up my many doubts about Obama. You can see him squirm…see him vacillate. It’s beyond troubling, especially considering the issue being addressed.
You won’t watch it probably, but you should. A Jewish friend sent me this link and the others related:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTrUYQCQceQ
I personally am a 100 percent supporter of Israel, so any question at all regarding Obama’s trustworthiness regarding it’s future is NOT an option for me. At ALL.
His good looks, calm temperament and oratorical skills can be dangerous, as he’s shown himself time and again. He’s simply not experienced enough, proven enough or truthful enough to hold this office!
I was at a restaurant last night with my husband and another couple. After dinner, my girlfriend and I went outside on the balcony so she could smoke. A middle-aged man approached us and asked if he could bum a cigarette. She gave him one and he stayed to chat, saying he and his wife were visiting their daughter who was attending college here. The conversation turned to the presidential race, as all conversations do these days, just as his wife walked up. We said we were voting for Obama and the wife said, “We’re not. Black people scare me.”
I think a lot of people are voting for McCain not because they like McCain, but because black people scare them. That may be the thing Faydean can’t put her finger on.
I, like dross, will be filled with pride if Americans put their racism aside and elect a black president. Not only is Obama the right person for the job,it will show Americans that black people are good, trustworthy people, too.
A friend of mine reminded me of this…I can’t help but to share it after reading JoyHowies’ lovely comment.
“It’s all right there on his website…”
You hate Bush. Don’t believe word he says (neither did I) and yet all Obama must show is you a Hollywood produced infommerical and you’re good?
Um, ok.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-FXkj-r9Mc
Sometimes, things are not as clear and straightforward as you’d think. Just sayin. Ya’ll called out Bush for his line of crap, yet Obama is the answer?
Btw, I can put my finger on what bothers me about Obama…I was speaking more of the ill feeling his demeanor gives me versus specifics. I’d list them in “book form” if I thought it would do one damn bit of good. But it won’t. So I won’t.
I must say, I’ve enjoyed this lively debate. There was something very familiar about the interactions. One group of people was trying to explain why they held their view, and one lone person kept just shouting them down, shouting over them without really hearing what anyone else was saying. It reminded me of this one episode of All in the Family.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4z0Oy4ij20
Sure there was one other dissenting voice, but they were respectful in the end, agreeable, and gave good examples of why they held their view.
A friend just sent me this.
Well, there ya go…
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081028/NEWS0206/810280354/1001/RSS01
@ dross:
just wanted to say i appreciate your comment. yes, i do hope we can civily talk about the issues “without an underlying current of “the other side is evil.” ” with that said, i am voting for obama, but i completely respect your viewpoint and your opinion. thank you for a civil, well-thought out opinion.
People are time and again comparing Obama’s ability to orate and his charisma to that guy in Germany (who shall remain nameless) in the 1920s as the only conclusion to the argument. That guy was a great speaker who did unspeakable things, Obama is a great speaker therefore he will do unspeakable things.
This is a false comparison because being a good speaker does not cause one to do unspeakable things – correlation (because they occur together or in the same person) does not equal causation.
Let us not forget that there is evidence of many individuals who are both good speakers and not doers of unspeakable things: Martin Luther King, Jr, Abraham Lincoln, JFK to name a few.
And because I am so like my husband and love to agitate, apparently, I can’t resist sharing this that my friend sent me too. I about snorted my coffee through my nose on this one. Please, if not one of you libs can laugh at this, then we are doomed. And, before you rant, I know you can give every actress and pop star in Hollywood on your side, not mention Clooney and DeCaprio. I’m being sarcastic here…I know it’s a base comparison!!!!
But you have to admit the this particular comparison is frigin’ funny.
http://tizona.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/conservative_girls/
Anyway, Happy Halloween to the liberals and conservatives. Whatever you might think I value you all. Now I must go contemplate what my husband suggested this morning, “Whatcha think about us dressing up as greedy rich people for Halloween?”
I guess I should ask a liberal exactly what my costume should be since they know exactly what those greedy, rich people look like. JOKE people. JOKE.
One could jump on this, have some fun, lighten up and make a suggestion on what I should wear for my costume ya know. I’m open for suggestions (don’t be mean, this is meant to be light hearted and appeasing to calm the tone down).
@dross, thanks for your comments. I hear you. One of my goals in posting so much about politics this cycle was to have that discussion. That we are still clouded by talking points from both sides, instead of taking a hard look at the myriad issues and the possible ways to go forward.
I’m not opposed to looking at other countries to see how they handle their healthcare. Or how they’ve handled their own economic crises (Japan has gone through some major ups and downs in the past 20 years, for example). Certainly we can learn and move forward.
There is a part of me that would be proud if America can elect a minority president.
@faydean, you may be irony-proof. I wasn’t attacking YOU. I was attacking your use of Hitler. It happens all the time on the internet. At some point, Hitler gets brought into the argument.
To entertain your notions that Obama is similar to Hitler… folly. All politicians strive to be charismatic. All politicians polish their rough spots. Some just do it better than others.
Reagan was accused of the same polish that you are now accusing Obama of.
p.s. I think conservatives are happier because they have more money. Just like your article says.
p.p.s. I believe that Clinton didn’t pursue Osama Bin Laden further in 1998 because Republicans raised the “Wag the Dog” scenario… (great movie) that Clinton was attacking Afghanistan to draw attention away from his Lewinsky scandal. I highly recommend reading Republican author Richard A. Clarke’s book, “Against All Enemies”. The political damage was too great for Clinton to continue attacking training camps in Afghanistan.
p.p.p.s. I wish that people weren’t so quick to say nice things about their bosses in Washington while they work for them. There needs to be a PR overhaul…
@faydean – your comments on here are starting to sound more and more like the actual McCain campaign…all smear and fear, but no actual substance. And nothing to convince anyone to vote FOR McCain…just why they shouldn’t vote for Obama. “I hated Bush with a passion myself, but I sure haven’t just decided to blindly accept someone running for public office at face value, not even McCain, just to escape him.” Really? Because it sounds like you’re doing just that…Voting McCain because he isn’t Obama. And the Hitler references? You said in your first post that the article you linked in no way relates to Obama and that you’re not trying to compare the two, but it’s obvious that’s what you’ve done in your second post. Just ridiculous.
@ nshadix: hee hee. wow. that video did have a familiar ring to it. although i find it slightly disturbing that all these years later it still sounds so familiar . . .
@faydean. I didn’t watch the infomercial. I’ve actually done a lot of research on my own, read many analyses and critiques pro and con of Obama’s policies. I don’t view him as The Messiah, The One, or any of that crap. Contrary to what you appear to believe, all “liberals” have not checked our brains at the door with this man.
I’m curious, what exactly do you consider to be Obama’s “radical views and beliefs”? A Cliff’s Notes version is fine, but any fact-based specifics are better than fear-based generalities.
@faydean: about your invitation to “make a suggestion on what I should wear for my costume ya know. I’m open for suggestions
to halloween costumes”, i’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you were being facetious because the last time i checked, this website was blurbomat’s not yours. it seems to me you enjoy coming in here and “taking over”. it’s not always about you. no malice intended, just what i perceived.
I find it curious that so many supporters of John McCain continue to refer to emails, links from friends and websites that make claims about Obama without citing a single source. Moreover, most make either an ill-supported or are altogether missing a point. My mother sends me email after email from various places (Focus on the Family, American Family Association, Newsmax.com, etc.) and most of them make a fraudulent claim about Obama’s associations with Islam, his inexperience or lack of judgment without showing any actual proof of anything apart from their own verbal abilities, or lack thereof.
As a Republican and moderate conservative, I was proud to vote for Obama. His politics brings a desperately needed breath of hope, a welcome call to unity, and, for at least my living memory, an unprecedented intellectual capacitance and application to the office of president.
Well said, allitode. So nice to hear some calm reasoning from the Republican side of this election.
I second that southerngirl!
Very nicely written Jon!
@Southerngirl – I somehow knew you would accuse me of racism at some point…it’s nearly election day. My husband now owes me $10.
@Jon – I even considered Clinton could be doing a “Wag the Dog” scenario back then…and I was a Clinton suppoter. They didn’t call him Slick Willy for nothing (so many reasons for that nickname, too little time).
@whoever said I was taking over Jon’s blog…whatever. I was trying to make a joke so people would lighten up a bit. They’ve called me greedy rich person, for the most part, I figured I’d throw them a bone and let them have at me. Geez.
A friend did have a funny suggestion…us walking around with money falling out of our pockets and our W-2 form attached to our pocket showing our income as $251,000. Now that’s a girl with a sense of humor!
@Carrie – you say I’m voting for McCain because he isn’t Obama. That’s so funny, because I just told a good friend that most liberal votes for Obama are really just a vote against Bush (via poor McCain the follow up act to that horrible show of the past 8 years). I think I even read a report in the WSJ about many people voting in simple protest to Republicans because they’ve hated Bush so much. I hated Bush sure, but McCain ISN’T Bush.
@ Jon again -you’re right, we (Republicans) are happy because we have more money
.
@fayden, your posts are deafening.
Pulling yourself away from “countless hours of FoxNews” might help you form a sentence that has substance and meaning. The verbage (pejorative) you continue to spew does not make for an intelligent conversation.
Please, for the sake of those of us that read comments.
Give us a major break.
Rich
Rich,
If your last comment was in response to me not addressing your concerns with my earlier post, I must apologize. I guess I could have answered you. But in truth, I’ve been so chastised on here (you wonder why I keep comment…good question…I’ll probably stop soon), that I really am skeptical that anyone is interested in true discussion or even considering anything other than what they’ve decided.
Believe me, if you want information, I’ve got it. But it would take time to put together. I considered answering Jon in such a request a week or so ago. But then I realized it was just pointless. All information, as Dross has pointed out, that I have about Obama that has formed my opinion is easily obtained on the Net. You can read the National Review (yes, it’s biased but try and find a publication that is not) and see editorials that give several sources for their information in one article. I have here and other places. I just consider that if someone is interested in finding out more, they’ll go look. That’s what I’ve done, on both sides myself.
But really it’s just semantics to say give me a detailed list of proof. Proof of what exactly, that Obama is not experienced enough? Well, you can look at his resume for that one. I can’t just listen to him and go to his website for what he says he supports and believes because I don’t trust that. In any other circumstance, I’d look at the record…the experience. But since Obama has virtually none that I think are either relevant or telling, then I’m at a loss. After that, all you have to go on is his words. For me, as you just accused me of in my comments (lacking substance) is not enough. But, with McCain, there is decades of a voting record to go by. He has a lifetime of experiece to reference, all in service to this country.
For me, there is no comparison of the two. If you are really considering changing your vote, then sure, I’ll give you some references for things regarding Obama. Otherwise, it really is just a waste of time.
faydean,
I actually don’t believe that conservatives and/or members of the Rebuplican party are racists. But girlfriend, the more I read, it’s so obvious to me that you are a racist. A compulsive, attention-seeking one at that.
Wait, and i had to crack up when you sited the national review given that chris buckley endorsed obama. hahahahahaha!!!! God love ya, faydean. Hope you had a fantastic Halloween.
Joanne,
You don’t know me and you can kiss my ass.
If this kind shit is what we have to look forward to for the next four years…anyone who disagrees with Obama being called a racist, then this country is already fucked.
I’m done.
You people are crazy, rude, ignorant and simply incapable of seeing any other side besides the bleeding heart shit you’ve been fed.
If Jon is ok with someone blatantly calling someone a racist, when I have NEVER said any such thing in my comments, then I’ve lost all respect for him.