It is caucus day and I am supporting Barack Obama for President of the United States. The Iowa Caucuses exist so that citizens can stand in front of their fellow voter and explain who they support and why.
On the other hand, here is a transcript of the speech that Obama delivered before the war.
11. He wins
A mere four years ago he was a state senator. People counted him out when he tried to run for U.S. Senate. He won with something like 70% of the popular vote. As I understand it, it was the highest return ever for a statewide office in Illinois.
12. He’s International and his middle name is Hussein
Yes, I really am pushing this as a selling point. We’ve alienated about the entire world, insisted that there is an axis of evil, raged against Muslim terrorism (causing even 7% of American muslims to sympathize with the cause of Al-Queda), what better path to reconciliation than putting up a guy who middle name is Hussein. The perfect fit.
Remember when Hillary raised 26 million, with her fundraising machinery in place and everyone was astounded. Well that was great, until newcomer Barack Obama raised 25 million, with smaller contributions.
14. He’s got endorsements
Barack the vote.
Barack and roll.
Barack the boat.
16. He’s used Drugs
Yes, once again I think this is an advantageous thing for Barack’s campaign. In his book he claimed that he had smoked marijuana and taken cocaine. "I had learned not to care," he wrote. "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it."
In recognition of this spirit of open and informed voting, I humbly present you with exactly 18 reasons why I am supporting Barack Obama.
1. The War
As far as I can tell this represents the largest difference between Senator Obama and, my second choice, John Edwards. Though the two share largely similar views on the issue now, back in 2002, when it was important, they did not.
As far as I can tell this represents the largest difference between Senator Obama and, my second choice, John Edwards. Though the two share largely similar views on the issue now, back in 2002, when it was important, they did not.
While Barack Obama stood up and gave an eloquent speech outlining his reservations concerning such a serious undertaking, Edwards bought into the administrations rhetoric hook, line, and sinker. In fact, out of all the candidates from four years ago--Kerry, Kucinich, Dean, Edwards, etc-- Edwards was the one who in 2002 most voiciferously (in relative terms) supported the war. Let's not forget that Edwards was, along with Joseph Lieberman, a co-sponsor of a 2002 war authorization bill.
On the other hand, here is a transcript of the speech that Obama delivered before the war.
Here is a nugget if you're short on time:
“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.”
Pretty strong stuff. There are a lot of people out there, not just Democrats, but Independents and yes, even Republicans who are yearning to hear something like that. A lot of them were probably yearning to hear it back in 2002. And it won’t be just the primary voters who will reward him for his spine and foresight, but voters in the general election too.
The voters are going to be showered with all sorts of gruesome casualty statistics throughout the campaign season. There is no question that bringing the troops home and ending the war will be priority number one. The people are jaded and regretful and skeptical of their leaders. Who are they going to trust? A candidate who voted to authorize the war and now rails against it? Didn’t seem to work in 2004. They’re going to trust someone like Obama who was eloquently outlining its dangers months before it was launched and now has the moral authority to criticize without seeming like an opportunistic politician.
2. He’s Young
Hillary and Richardson are both around 60. Edwards, for all his boyish charm, is actually 54, and rounding out the list is Obama, who is a mere 45 years old.
“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.”
Pretty strong stuff. There are a lot of people out there, not just Democrats, but Independents and yes, even Republicans who are yearning to hear something like that. A lot of them were probably yearning to hear it back in 2002. And it won’t be just the primary voters who will reward him for his spine and foresight, but voters in the general election too.
The voters are going to be showered with all sorts of gruesome casualty statistics throughout the campaign season. There is no question that bringing the troops home and ending the war will be priority number one. The people are jaded and regretful and skeptical of their leaders. Who are they going to trust? A candidate who voted to authorize the war and now rails against it? Didn’t seem to work in 2004. They’re going to trust someone like Obama who was eloquently outlining its dangers months before it was launched and now has the moral authority to criticize without seeming like an opportunistic politician.
2. He’s Young
Hillary and Richardson are both around 60. Edwards, for all his boyish charm, is actually 54, and rounding out the list is Obama, who is a mere 45 years old.
But, you say, youth equals inexperience which equals disaster right? Wrong. Obama’s youth signals something new: vitality, spirit, innovation, and frankly, whatever the hell people want it to signify.
Every year we come out with polls saying that a small percentage of the general population support gay marriage but a comparatively larger percentage of people aged 15-25 do. Or that a small percentage of the general population believes we should reconsider our waging of the war on drugs, but again, a comparatively larger percentage of our youth do. It seems clear to me that the youth of our nation are often more susceptible to rational assessment of our nation’s problems than other segments of our population. A younger candidate is what the youth vote is looking for: a tolerant newcomer who is willing to take a fresh look at the way we manage our country. Finally, will give a population that is notorious for not voting a reason to vote.
3. He’s handsome
This cannot be overstated. Barack Obama is probably the most handsome candidate in the field (somewhere, John Edwards is shedding silent tears). He’s Kennedy handsome. Let’s get real, Kerry’s cragginess was a little bit off-putting, and he always seemed a little bit awkward.
Everyone always cites the famous Nixon-Kennedy debate as incontrovertible proof that being handsome and healthy wins votes. Nixon was haggard and sickly, Kennedy was confident, fresh and tanned. Well, in 2008 Obama is going to be confident, fresh, and much more tanned than Kennedy.
3. He’s handsome
This cannot be overstated. Barack Obama is probably the most handsome candidate in the field (somewhere, John Edwards is shedding silent tears). He’s Kennedy handsome. Let’s get real, Kerry’s cragginess was a little bit off-putting, and he always seemed a little bit awkward.
Everyone always cites the famous Nixon-Kennedy debate as incontrovertible proof that being handsome and healthy wins votes. Nixon was haggard and sickly, Kennedy was confident, fresh and tanned. Well, in 2008 Obama is going to be confident, fresh, and much more tanned than Kennedy.
I’m pretty sure one of my best friends just bought a perfume because there was an attractive female selling it. Does anyone seriously think that we’ve gotten less susceptible to sex appeal in advertising since the 60’s?
4. He’s charismatic
A story I came across recently went like this:
National Journal White House reporter Alexis Simendinger recalls the first time Obama visited the White House after his election. He was mingling in the East Room with other members of Congress. As she watched him move through the crowd, a photographer asked, “Who is that guy? He’s certainly got ‘It.’ ”
This is probably the most oft-cited reason for Obama’s rise to prominence in the Democratic Party and easily one of his most powerful attributes.
Remember when everyone was talking about how people thought Kerry was smarter but people would rather have a beer with George Bush? Wouldn’t it be great if we had a presidential candidate who was smarter and you would rather have a beer with him?
Has anyone heard about the speech he gave to an anti-abortion congregation at Rick Warren’s Evangelical Church on Dec. 28, 2006 (WorldAIDS Day)? Though critics bayed loudly at the pro-choice candidate being allowed to speak during their Global Aids Summit, the audience wound up giving him a standing ovation. Let me repeat that: a standing freakin’ ovation. Not only can Barack Obama charm the socks off of an evangelical preacher, but he would beat the pants off of a Mormon flip-flopper (leaving him standing only in his secret underwear). Bring it on Romney.
Which brings us to . . .
5. His Faith
True, all of the candidates are Christians. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be running. (Atheists run just below pedophiles in who Americans wouldn’t vote for president).
But I find that, in contrast to the other candidates, the way in which Obama speaks about his faith is actually quite inspiring. Not only did he get that standing ovation from the folks at Warren’s church, but he had another little speech in Washington on June 28 of 2006 that the Washington Post claimed might be “be the most important pronouncement by a Democrat on faith and politics since John F. Kennedy's Houston speech in 1960 declaring his independence from the Vatican. . .(E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post Op-Ed, June 30, 2006)
In the speech, Obama claimed that "Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts. You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it."
A religious politician talking about a concept like doubt. Now that is innovative.
And check out this nice little ditty about the need for separation between church and state:
In a direct challenge to "conservative leaders," he argued that "they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice."
4. He’s charismatic
A story I came across recently went like this:
National Journal White House reporter Alexis Simendinger recalls the first time Obama visited the White House after his election. He was mingling in the East Room with other members of Congress. As she watched him move through the crowd, a photographer asked, “Who is that guy? He’s certainly got ‘It.’ ”
This is probably the most oft-cited reason for Obama’s rise to prominence in the Democratic Party and easily one of his most powerful attributes.
Remember when everyone was talking about how people thought Kerry was smarter but people would rather have a beer with George Bush? Wouldn’t it be great if we had a presidential candidate who was smarter and you would rather have a beer with him?
Has anyone heard about the speech he gave to an anti-abortion congregation at Rick Warren’s Evangelical Church on Dec. 28, 2006 (WorldAIDS Day)? Though critics bayed loudly at the pro-choice candidate being allowed to speak during their Global Aids Summit, the audience wound up giving him a standing ovation. Let me repeat that: a standing freakin’ ovation. Not only can Barack Obama charm the socks off of an evangelical preacher, but he would beat the pants off of a Mormon flip-flopper (leaving him standing only in his secret underwear). Bring it on Romney.
Which brings us to . . .
5. His Faith
True, all of the candidates are Christians. If they weren’t they wouldn’t be running. (Atheists run just below pedophiles in who Americans wouldn’t vote for president).
But I find that, in contrast to the other candidates, the way in which Obama speaks about his faith is actually quite inspiring. Not only did he get that standing ovation from the folks at Warren’s church, but he had another little speech in Washington on June 28 of 2006 that the Washington Post claimed might be “be the most important pronouncement by a Democrat on faith and politics since John F. Kennedy's Houston speech in 1960 declaring his independence from the Vatican. . .(E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post Op-Ed, June 30, 2006)
In the speech, Obama claimed that "Faith doesn't mean that you don't have doubts. You need to come to church in the first place precisely because you are first of this world, not apart from it."
A religious politician talking about a concept like doubt. Now that is innovative.
And check out this nice little ditty about the need for separation between church and state:
In a direct challenge to "conservative leaders," he argued that "they need to understand the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy, but the robustness of our religious practice."
"Folks tend to forget," he continued, "that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment," but "persecuted minorities" such as Baptists "who didn't want the established churches to impose their views."
I love it how Obama ups the ante a little bit. Not only is he, a pro-choice Democrat waltzing brazenly into their most sacred confines, buddying it up with their purposeful-life driven savior Rick Warren, and eliciting standing ovations, but he’s trying to convince the congregations to start lobbying for one of the most important principles of the liberal philosophy.
Some final words from the Senator about his faith: "And in its historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world. As a source of hope."
6. He’s Intelligent
He was the first ever minority to take the helm at the Harvard Law Review. Not too shabby.
Renowned constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe called him “the most all-around impressive student I had seen in decades."
Some final words from the Senator about his faith: "And in its historical struggles for freedom and the rights of man, I was able to see faith as more than just a comfort to the weary or a hedge against death, but rather as an active, palpable agent in the world. As a source of hope."
6. He’s Intelligent
He was the first ever minority to take the helm at the Harvard Law Review. Not too shabby.
Renowned constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe called him “the most all-around impressive student I had seen in decades."
Not too shabby again. Right now we have a president who makes jokes at commencement ceremonies about his poor grades. With scores of people now dead in Iraq and an administration marked by incompetence and nepotism, I think America is probably just about ready who takes his own cultivation and enlightenment a little more seriously.
7. He’s A Great Orator
You always got the sense that Kerry was talking at people, not to people. Obama is respectful and friendly, like he’s learning something from you as he answers the questions.
The man’s speech at the Democratic convention was so good the man earned a Grammy. A Grammy. I have friends that were moved to tears by that speech.
8. He’s cool
This might be kind of like charismatic, but I think it’s a little different. Charismatic is a kind of natural quality that makes people like you. Coolness is a quality that makes people want to be like you. Remember when Top Gun came out and the Air Force saw a huge spike in enrollment in the years that followed? That’s Obama. The phrase that I’ve been hearing quite a bit is “cerebrally cool.” Instead of enrolling in the Air Force, today’s kids are going to start following current events and playing fantasy congress online. That’s how cool Obama is. No wonder Hollywood is all over him.
9. He’s a mandate for change
More than any other candidate in the field, Obama will represent a mandate for change. I’ve heard it argued that Hillary would also represent a mandate for change. The argument is that being our first woman president would signal new things to come. I don’t think so. If she wasn’t Hillary Clinton maybe. Clinton takes the stage, that means possibly 28 years of Bush/Clinton dynasty. That’s not change, that’s a regression to monarchy. That’s business as usual.
A smart young man of mixed racial heritage is a symbol of the direction in which we want our country to move.
10. He’s a Symbol of the American dream
7. He’s A Great Orator
You always got the sense that Kerry was talking at people, not to people. Obama is respectful and friendly, like he’s learning something from you as he answers the questions.
The man’s speech at the Democratic convention was so good the man earned a Grammy. A Grammy. I have friends that were moved to tears by that speech.
8. He’s cool
This might be kind of like charismatic, but I think it’s a little different. Charismatic is a kind of natural quality that makes people like you. Coolness is a quality that makes people want to be like you. Remember when Top Gun came out and the Air Force saw a huge spike in enrollment in the years that followed? That’s Obama. The phrase that I’ve been hearing quite a bit is “cerebrally cool.” Instead of enrolling in the Air Force, today’s kids are going to start following current events and playing fantasy congress online. That’s how cool Obama is. No wonder Hollywood is all over him.
9. He’s a mandate for change
More than any other candidate in the field, Obama will represent a mandate for change. I’ve heard it argued that Hillary would also represent a mandate for change. The argument is that being our first woman president would signal new things to come. I don’t think so. If she wasn’t Hillary Clinton maybe. Clinton takes the stage, that means possibly 28 years of Bush/Clinton dynasty. That’s not change, that’s a regression to monarchy. That’s business as usual.
A smart young man of mixed racial heritage is a symbol of the direction in which we want our country to move.
10. He’s a Symbol of the American dream
For people who love good melting-pot/rags-to-riches/equal opportunity stories about the American experience, you can't get much better than Obama. This man represents the immigrant experience, the black experience, and the white experience. He is a Harvard law graduate and a community organizer. He represents the America that we all know is possible.
11. He wins
A mere four years ago he was a state senator. People counted him out when he tried to run for U.S. Senate. He won with something like 70% of the popular vote. As I understand it, it was the highest return ever for a statewide office in Illinois.
12. He’s International and his middle name is Hussein
Yes, I really am pushing this as a selling point. We’ve alienated about the entire world, insisted that there is an axis of evil, raged against Muslim terrorism (causing even 7% of American muslims to sympathize with the cause of Al-Queda), what better path to reconciliation than putting up a guy who middle name is Hussein. The perfect fit.
If it was his last name, maybe it wouldn't have worked so well, that's the topic for another post. But middle name. . . perfecto. Plus, the American people aren’t stupid. The majority now believe that what we have done in Iraq is wrong. They also hear, every day how our liberties are at risk from Muslim extremists. If they start trying to drag Obama through the mud for his middle name, mark my words. . . it’s going to backfire. The one good thing about wartime is that the electorate does start paying a little more attention to political machinations. I think that we are a more savvy electorate than four years ago. People have heard about the swift boat character torpedoes ad nausem and now they’re ready for them.
As Andrew Sullivan noted: "Electing a half-African president, with Hussein as a middle name, who attended school in a Muslim country: it's almost a p.r. agent's dream for America. It would instantly give this country a fresh start in the world after the disaster of the Bush-Cheney years. "
13. He can raise money
As Andrew Sullivan noted: "Electing a half-African president, with Hussein as a middle name, who attended school in a Muslim country: it's almost a p.r. agent's dream for America. It would instantly give this country a fresh start in the world after the disaster of the Bush-Cheney years. "
13. He can raise money
Remember when Hillary raised 26 million, with her fundraising machinery in place and everyone was astounded. Well that was great, until newcomer Barack Obama raised 25 million, with smaller contributions.
14. He’s got endorsements
The Des Moines Register may have seriously dropped the ball with the Hillary endorsement, but other newspapers across the state are proving much more Obama friendly. As of now, Obama leads the newspaper endorsement race 9-4-3-2 (Obama, Clinton, Biden, Edwards). Here is rundown over at John Deeth's page.
Obama also, as of about a week ago, had more Iowa legislators endorsing him (20) than any other candidate. This is amazing for two reasons. One, The Clinton's enlisted the help of Tom Vilsack for exactly this type of thing. Two, Edwards had a preexisiting strucutre here from 4 years ago and has been campaigning in the state for around 5 years now.
Just recently, however, Clinton moved back into the lead of the legislator's race, picking up a couple endorsements over the last week. That leaves Hillary with 21 and Obama with 20. Edwards, for all his work, has only 11. Again, John Deeth with the details (Deethtails?).
He's also got more Hollywood cache than anyone out there and appears to be getting a lot of other support from prominent activists/politicians. Here's a little potpourri o his support which is by no means exhaustive:
Tom Dashcle
Hollywood moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen
Jesse Jackson
Quentin Tarantino
Al Gore film producer Lawrence Bender
Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Iowa’s Attorney General Tom Miller
State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald
George Clooney calls him a friend (I don't know if this is an endorsement).
George Clooney calls him a friend (I don't know if this is an endorsement).
Halle Berry has said she would "collect paper cups off the ground to make his pathway clear". George Soros
Oprah Winfrey
Cornell West
Congressman Dave Loebsack
15. He’s got amazing Political Slogan/bumper sticker potential
15. He’s got amazing Political Slogan/bumper sticker potential
Barack the vote.
Barack and roll.
Barack the boat.
16. He’s used Drugs
Yes, once again I think this is an advantageous thing for Barack’s campaign. In his book he claimed that he had smoked marijuana and taken cocaine. "I had learned not to care," he wrote. "Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it."
He refers to it as blow. That’s how cool he is. I honestly don’t even know what blow is.
We’ll have had a former pot-smoking president in Clinton, a former drunk-driving president in Bush, and now a former coke-sniffing president in Obama. Hopefully, this will help people understand that our drug laws are a little bit absurd. This goes back to the youth argument.
17. He’s Black
Our first black president. A mandate for change. A new face to the world. A new chapter in our nation's history.
18. He Can Get Voters to Vote
We’ll have had a former pot-smoking president in Clinton, a former drunk-driving president in Bush, and now a former coke-sniffing president in Obama. Hopefully, this will help people understand that our drug laws are a little bit absurd. This goes back to the youth argument.
17. He’s Black
Our first black president. A mandate for change. A new face to the world. A new chapter in our nation's history.
18. He Can Get Voters to Vote
I think that people who don't normally vote in general elections will vote for Barack Obama. This argument is a little suspect because it's the same one that Howard Dean used in 2004. However, I think it's true. The disenfranchised, the cynical, the jaded, are all waiting for some kind of candidate to excite and inspire them. If we're looking for a real sea change in modern American politics, the kind of change that will finally get lazy Americans off their asses and get to the polling booths and start participating in a grassroots kind of way in the creation of new policy and direction for this country, Barack Obama is the man to do it.
Let's get ready to Barack and Roll--
Nick Gregory, a participant in the Iowa Caucuses of 2007.
No comments:
Post a Comment