I’ve been a Democrat ever since I registered to vote back in high school, and I intend to remain a Democrat for many years to come. Therefore, it would come as no surprise to anyone that I would support a Democratic candidate for the presidency over somebody like John McCain.
However, given the strong split among the supporters of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, I thought I would weigh in and give my two cents. It’s not like my endorsement is going to mean a whole lot, but I’m voting for Barack Obama (well, already voted, since I did so by absentee ballot).
For me, it’s not a question of experience or political shrewdness. Compared to Obama, Hillary’s got both of them in spades. In the Federal world, she’s clearly the more knowledgeable candidate. She’s a politician, and to me, she comes off as one. I’m not going to go into the differences between a politician and a statesman, but all I’ll say is that Obama feels like much less of a politician.
Yes, he’s highly educated and extremely well-spoken, but he comes off as a person that practically anyone can understand, no matter their economic or educational backgrounds. So why do I support Obama? Aside from the fact that I agree with many of his policies, I find myself inspired by him. This country has a lot going against it right now: a war we never should have gotten into that seems to have no way for us to get out, crumbling public education systems and soaring college costs, millions who can’t afford health care, wage-paying jobs being shipped overseas and companies hiring immigrants for a fraction of the costs, increasing poverty, increasing tax cuts that have left our government in some of the most extreme debt in its history, and a government that has turned a blind eye to the global environment and rising energy costs.
This is not the America we dreamed about. This is not the WORLD we dreamed about. In the past 7 years, we have not been inspired enough in order to become more involved in the political process. Our leaders have done very little to capture our hearts and truly make us believe that they could make America and the world better. They’ve lacked passion. Barack Obama embodies that passion and that spirit. Sure, Hillary Clinton has some of that passion too, but Obama has a more electric energy. He’s one of the best speakers I have ever listened to. The passion with which he gives his speeches belies his love for this country and his desire to make it great once again.
We’ve stood above the world for decades, but a tower of concrete and steel has now been replaced by stilts of splintering balsa wood. We’re breaking, and we need to become strong again. America is not just defined by its accomplishments, but also by its dreams. We need to understand the realities we face, but we also need to dream again, to look beyond the horizon, as JFK once caused us to do.
It’s that kind of dreaming — that kind of inspiration — that allows us to face the obstacles before us with our heads held high. We need a president who can help us do that. The hope that Barack Obama can give us is one that I do not think will be false.
He can put this country back on its course by inspiring us to pick ourselves up, take charge of our destiny and reclaim our title as the greatest nation in the history of the world, and also as a man who can build bridges between us and the other nations and cultures of the world in an effort to bring all of humanity together peacefully in these tumultuous times.
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