I am voting for Obama tomorrow because:
- Sarah Palin as President of the United States is a scary thought. John McCain made a huge gamble with his VP pick. He lost. Anne Applebaum:
The appointment of Palin — inspired by his closest colleagues — turned out not to be a “maverick” move but, rather, a concession to those Republicans who think foreign policy can be conducted using a series of cliches and those in his party who shout down the federal government while quietly raking in federal subsidies.
- The anti-intellectualism of the pro-Palin right wing is deeply offensive to me.
- Although I still have serious problems with Obama’s 20 year relationship with his former pastor, I think that Obama is 51% decent guy and only 49% opportunist.
- Although Obama is inexperienced, I believe he is smart enough to surround himself with other smart and more experienced people, and smart enough to take their advice.
- We have a large budget deficit. The candidate with the more realistic revenue plan gets major points in my book. The previously fiscally responsible McCain has drunk a little too much “no-tax” Kool Aid.
- Our health care system is broken. I am a raving liberal in this respect: I think that all American citizens should have at least some basic health insurance. Emphasis on “basic” so we don’t break the piggy bank. I think Obama’s health care plan is a good one overall. Of course the devil is in the yet-to-be-worked-out details.
- There is something to be said for electing the candidate the rest of the world wants to vote for. No country in Europe would elect a black man for dogcatcher (because they are bigger racists than we are), but they all want Obama as the next President of the United States. In the “post-American world,” Obama will start on second base when dealing with our friends.
- And as for dealing with our enemies, see number 4 above.
Hey JD,
Don’t agree, but respect your decision. You gave it more thought than most.
That said, if Biden is an example of Obama’s skill in choosing “smart and more experienced people”, I don’t have much faith in his track record out of the box.
I guess I remember all to well how the country runs with one party (either one) in power.
Best to you and yours.
TG
I’m disappointed with your 51/49. I think he’s, quite possibly, the finest all-around person to be elected to that office in many, many decades.
It’s a privilege to be a witness to this.
I look forward to discussing it with you in person, but SJ might opt to leave the room.
I ammend my last comment to read:
“I look forward to arguing it with you…”
I like the item 4: “surround yourself with smart and more experienced people”. How about using Colin Powell, for example? Whatever. When I think on almost any “team” I have been a part of I think of the strengths and weaknesses of individual members and the potential of a true team harvesting the strengths. Our United Methodist curriculum, out of Nashville (yeah Sara Jane) keeps trying to tell me that the creator of it all is in charge. I have a list of 27 or 963 questions I have of St. Peter when I get there about all the happenings that have brought us to Nov. 6, 2008