(1) Because he is an inspiring leader who, I believe, has the best chance of any of the current candidates of uniting the country, reducing needless partisanship, finding solutions that work, compromising where necessary, standing on principle where it’s vital, and moving us forward.
(2) Because I believe electing Hillary Clinton would take us back to the harsh anti-Clinton partisanship of the 1990’s, instead of moving us forward.
(3) Because I believe that, unfortunately, no matter how good any health care reform proposed by Hillary Clinton might be, the public has already made up its mind that it doesn’t want “Hillarycare.” Perhaps it’s impossible to pass universal health care in the US, but Obama has a better chance.
(4) Because Republicans, on the whole, are not particularly enthusiastic about their choices for this election. Their turnout in November could be low, giving the Democrats an excellent chance to win. However, there is so much anti-Clinton sentiment that I think hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, will go to the polls to vote against Hillary no matter who her opponent is.
(5) In the primaries held thus far, Clinton has tended to do better in urban areas, while Obama has done better in rural areas. Clinton’s strength, therefore, lies mainly in places where the Democrats will win no matter what; Obama, on the other hand, can compete for the swing states that we need. (This is particularly important if, as the current trends suggest, the Republican nominee is John McCain, who has a wide appeal to independents.)
(6) Obama knew, even in 2002, that invading Iraq was a mistake – even though he believed, as most of us did at the time, that Saddam did have WMD’s under development – and he took the political risk of saying so. We need someone with that kind of judgment and courage.
(7) Obama could transform our relations with countries around the world, and particularly in the Middle East, by showing them that America does not just pay lip service to diversity and equality. His ancestry and upbringing give him a perspective and insight on the world that is greatly needed in this age.
(8) Some of you seem to give value to my political opinions, even though you may not always agree with them. After reading The Audacity of Hope, I was excited to discover that Obama, in many ways, thinks like I do: he sees both sides of issues (even where his own opinion is firmly on one side) and does not demonize his opponents, or believe those who disagree with him are somehow immoral or unpatriotic. He can work with those on the other side to find policies that everyone can accept.
(9) He inspires young people particularly and can, I believe, involve them in politics, and can help heal our racial, economic, and religious divides. The fact that he’s raised so much money from small donors (including myself) indicates that when he issues a call to action, people will respond.
(10) Because he’s awesome!
3 comments:
These are all good reasons to vote for Obama, but I also wonder most of all if the reason to vote for him is because he has a better chance of beating a Republican nominee having not been brutally attacked for the past 10 years as a communist shrew.
Electability ranked reasonably high in my reasons to vote for him.
Austin, Texas: voted in the primary, and have just gotten home from my first caucus. What the hell was that?!?
Advice to anyone caucusing in the future: Bring a small child. They let you go to the front of the line!
Are you ever gonna update this thing? ;)
I'm just wondering if your opinion on his electability has changed at all in the meantime.
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