Insight to Why I Support Barack Obama

By Jason I. Hale

“I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.”
–Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK, on endorsing Barack Obama

Thankfully the 2008 election is shaping up to be less heated than the 2004 election. With George W. Bush’s approval ratings consistent at 39% (Rasmussen Report), the United States in general appears to be ready for a new president, regardless of who it is. As many of you know, I was fairly active in the 2004 election – registering voters, attending debates and rallies, and canvassing for John Kerry. As the 2008 election coverage began in early 2007 with the candidacy announcements, I once again found myself obsessed with the political game.

In 2004, a young upstart vying for a U.S. senatorial position in Illinois named Barack Obama gave a momentous speech at the Democratic National Convention that blew me away and rivaled some of the most inspirational speeches in political history. Although I encourage you to search and listen to that speech online at www.youtube.com, here is a sample:

For alongside our famous individualism, there’s another ingredient in the American saga.A belief that we are connected as one people. If there’s a child on the south side of Chicago who can’t read, that matters to me, even if it’s not my child. If there’s a senior citizen somewhere who can’t pay for her prescription and has to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it’s not my grandmother. If there’s an Arab American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It’s that fundamental belief - I am my brother’s keeper, I am my sister’s keeper - that makes this country work. It’s what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family. ‘E pluribus unum.’ Out of many, one.

Yet even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there’s not a liberal America and a conservative America - there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America” (July 27th, 2004 – Democratic National Convention).

It was evident from that moment that Barack Obama was a special politician. He was quickly labeled as the “rising star” of the Democratic Party, and subsequently, handily won his position in the United States Senate.

In early 2007, he announced his candidacy for President of the United States. In the months that followed, I read his bestselling book, Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. This memoir, written in 1995 (before all of his political fame) is best summarized by Barnes and Noble:

“In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American. It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father - a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man-has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey-first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.”

After learning about the details in Barack Obama diverse backstory, I went on to read his latest publication, The Audacity of Hope, which explored his various stance on issues in broad strokes. The following was lifted from the Barnes and Noble Synopsis as well:
“A senator and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, and above all a student of history and human nature, Senator Obama has written a book of transforming power. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes — “waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”

After reading his well-written books, absorbing his electrifying speeches, and witnessing his ability to bring people together, I can only hope that the voters of Ohio will be a part of his exciting push to the presidency. The momentum has been building since Iowa first gave Barack their support in early January. Obama has won 19 of 29 states so far and looks to do well in the three states voting February 12th. The United States of America has embraced Barack Obama, as evidenced by his diverse supporters, who appreciate his call for hope, change, and for a united future.

How does Barack Obama differ from Hillary Clinton? Well, to be honest, on most issues, they are very similar; however, Barack offers a couple of unique characteristics:

• Barack Obama has the ability to bring together Democrats and Republicans. Hillary Clinton, although a fine candidate, is detested among Republican voters and the Republican Party; therefore, in the general election, she will pull very few independent voters in comparison to Barack Obama (who may actually pull some Republicans as well). For the past eight years, Republicans and Democrats have been in keen opposition to one another, mostly due to the polarizing figure of President Bush. Republicans were fierce Bush supporters and Democrats were fierce Anti-Bush combatants. We are at a time in American politics when we need to move past party lines to due what is best for the future of the United States. Hillary Clinton would be a return to the politics of old – the politics of Republicans on one side, Democrats on the other.

• Barack Obama was against going to war in Iraq in 2002 when Hillary Clinton voted to give President Bush the authorization. He recognized that Saddam Hussein posed no immanent threat to the United States and that the real focus should have been a continued effort in Afghanistan to eliminate Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden. Here is an excerpt from his speech on Oct. 2nd, 2002:

“I know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I’m opposed to dumb wars.”

Barack Obama vs John McCain

Since the beginning of the Iraq war, the Bush Administration has continued to paint Democrats as weak on “terror,” claiming that their opposition to the Iraq war was a signal that they would allow terrorism to run rampant and unchecked throughout the world. Five years into this Iraq war, the United States has ultimately bankrupted itself, allowed Osama Bin Laden to remain at large, Al Qaeda to regain strength in Northern Pakistan, all the while tarnishing our image abroad and making little or no progress in Iraq. As of February 5th 2008, 3,947 U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March of 2003, and nearly 29,092 have been wounded in hostile action (Associated Press). Iraqi Civilian deaths (non-combative Iraqis) number 81,032-88,479 (www.Iraqbodycount.org).

Last summer, amidst all the continuing bloodshed in Iraq and talk of U.S. troop timetable withdrawals, Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain pushed for a “Troop Surge” (or increase) in Iraq under a new general (Gen. David Patreas) to quell violence in an attempt to buy the fledgling Iraqi government and Prime Minister enough time to settle their political divisions and provide the fair division of oil production so ultimate to the restoration of government control over the Sunni-Shiite divide.

To this point, the violence has gone down, as should be expected when the United States increases its troop levels; however, the Iraqi government has made little progress. Stay tuned, the November election will again be about the Iraq war.

Barack Obama vs The Chain Email

I would also like to take a moment to address the unfair anonymous chain emails that are circulating, attempting to scare voters. Barack has been attacked in a number of emails that you may or may not have seen which claim that he is a Muslim and that he refused to be sworn in to office with his hand on the Bible, saying that he was instead sworn in on the Koran. It also claims that he will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance and that when others place their hands over their hearts, he turns his back to the flag and slouches. This is absolutely ridiculous and 100% false, and frankly, I find it incredibly intolerant, ignorant, and offensive. Barack Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and he and his family have been members of the same church for twenty years now. His Kenyan paternal grandfather and Indonesian stepfather were Muslim, but Barack Obama has never been a practicing Muslim. For a complete analysis of these false allegations and the actual truths, check out: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp
If any of these claims were true, don’t you think that it would be covered in the actual NEWS? I could start a circulation email today claiming that John McCain actually had homosexual experiences while serving in the military. And although this is absolutely false and incredibly unfair to Senator McCain, it would undoubtedly hurt his campaign. Why anybody would believe a chain email is beyond me?

Don’t let false petty rumors dictate your decision. Vote for a candidate based on what he/she has done in the past and what you believe that he/she can do for the United States of America in the future.

As March 4th rapidly approaches and you prepare to cast your vote in the Ohio Primaries, I ask you to research the remaining Democratic and Republican Candidates before you make your way to the polls. When gathering this information, it is best to examine non-partisan factual sources. Avoid Conservative or Liberal radio stations and opinionated newspaper editorials. These sources aim to persuade voters and will ignore the facts, smear the opposition, and distort the records just to help their candidates cause. If you have access, explore the following:

CNN: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/candidates/
USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/
Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/elections

Thank you for your time,
Jason I. Hale