Why I Voted For Barack Obama

With the exception of various Mitt Romney-related posts, I have tried to stay away from explicitly political posts on this blog.  Now, anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE politics.  I could watch CNN all day; I could even probably watch CSPAN for....maybe a half hour.  I have been content over the past several months to let that little Barack Obama banner sit over on the side of this blog and speak for itself.  But I voted for Obama this morning here in Texas as soon as the polls opened, and now I am going to explain a little bit as to why. 

First, I think it is important to explain that I do not want to get bogged down in details about positions and issues.  Issues are hugely important and decisions on who to vote for should be determined by the sum total of a voter's feelings on many different issues, not just one or two that produce knee-jerk reactions.  No candidate is a perfect match.  Like I said, I don't want to go down a list of those here, but it suffices that I am comfortable that my own beliefs about most of the issues are much more closely aligned with Sen. Obama than they are with Sen. McCain. 

What I want to do here is give a couple more meta-reasons why I voted for Obama:

• Because "dumb but likeable" (Bush) had eight years in the White House.  We can't give her (Palin) four or eight more.  Isn't it time to give "intelligent and thoughtful" a turn?
• Because those who mock the idea of "community organizing" lack the compassion to lead a country as diverse and unequal as this one
• Because we need leaders who understand that "citizen of the world" and "redistribution of wealth" are not naughty words
• Because most of the people out there yelling "Marxist! Socialist!" at Obama don't really know what those words mean
• Because while Sen. Obama may have one acquaintance or friend (I don't care which) who was a terrorist 30 years ago, when Obama was 8 years old, Sen. McCain has hundreds and thousands of bigoted and hateful supporters today in 2008
• Because Sen. Obama has mobilized youth in this campaign like no candidate in recent history and his presidency will reinstill hope in those youth in a difficult era in American history ("the children are our future..."); McCain's victory may bring joy to a couple of dying old people
• Because we need someone who understands that when asked, "When does life begin?", the only right answer is "that's above my paygrade."