Decision 2008 is Research and Common Sense

There are more than 40 days left before the Iowa caucuses, and more than 300 days to the presidential elections. I know many people are still sitting on the fence, on who to vote for in the primaries. I have switched my support from one candidate to the other since the beginning of this year. For about a quarter of this year, John Edward was my guy, then for about two months, Sen. Hillary Clinton was my candidate of choice. I would defend her among my friends whenever politics did come up. The more I defended her the less I liked her. I encountered more people who were against her for legitimate reasons, than people who were for her, just because her last name is Clinton. I did not just give up on her, so for weeks, I did some research on my own, using my school library and the internet. I need not mention the things that changed my support for her. But I would tell my friends they were right about her. By the end of June 2007, I decided to take a look at the rookie Senator from Chicago, Barack Obama. I used the word rookie because that is what most people and even journalist referred to him when he announced his candidacy for president last February. This time, I began by doing some extensive research on Sen. Barack Obama. The more I read about him, the more I saw presidential qualities in him. So to help those who are sitting on the fence I decided to share thought.

Barack H. Obama the junior Senator from Illinois was born August 4, 1961. He is the fifth , African American Senator in U.S History and the only African American currently serving in the U.S. Senate. He is bi-racial, born to a black Kenyan father, and a white American mother. Obama has lived and experience life in every social class of the economic spectrum, and every racial block in America; White, Black, Asian, Hispanic. He lived as a child in multi-ethnic Indonesia, and in the majority-minority U.S. State of Hawaii. A graduate of Columbia university and Hardvard Law School Obama worked as a community organizer university lecturer and civil rights lawyer before running for public office. He served about 7 years in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 before his election to the U.S Senate in 2004. Looking at this is just a plus to any person wanting to lead this multi-racial country and the world. No other candidate in both political parties has such a diverse background.

Barack Obama has proven that he has the best judgment when it comes to our foreign policy. Back in 2002, Obama opposed invading Iraq, which has turn out to be the worst foreign policy disaster in American History. Here I quote him back them;
“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-Qeada I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars. You want a fight, President Bush? Let's finish the fight with Bin Laden and al-Qaeda, through effective, coordinated intelligence, and a shutting down of the financial networks that support terrorism, and a homeland security program that involves more than color-coded warnings”

All of the democrats running for president, except Denis Kucinich, voted for the Iraq war resolution. My guess is that because he lived in a third world foreign country it helped shaped his views about the world. It helped him execute good judgment, which according to many experts is the best ingredient necessary to handle foreign crisis.

When was the last time we hard a president who tells us what we need to know, and not what we want to hear? When the last time we had a president who speaks the truth on national TV, who does not misrepresent facts to suit his agenda? When I look back within the last 100 years I see two men who spoke with such candor, Theodore Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy. Both men turn out to be one of the best presidents this country has ever seen. So far, Barack Obama has many similarities both men. On numerous occasions, he has said things that many Americans don’t want to hear, things that big corporations don’t want to hear. Take a look at one of his remarks on the link

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/05/07/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_12.php

Very often pundits refer to it as a gaffe. Then in one of the presidential debates, he suggested he will meet with foreign leaders of countries that are hostile to us. That is Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela. I could hear many people saying; that is the end of his presidential ambition; he is so inexperience. (I remember Hillary Clinton saying, she will not meet with any of the foreign leaders that our hostile to us because she does not want to loose a PR war.) I almost bought into her explanation. But then, I thought for my self. As a married man, if I have some differences with my wife, I don’t continue my life without talking to her because I don’t want to loose my pride. I don’t just write her emails or letters or send someone to talk to her and I don’t beat her up. I take the high road, and seek to settle our differences face to face. And each time, we have come out not only happier, but we learned more about each other. This has worked for the past 10 years of our marriage. So I began to wonder, why not apply this common sense on our foreign policy. We could forge consensus with nations that we have major differences with. We won’t always have to invade another country so that they bend to our will. My conclusion was Obama is right. So, I said to myself, we have the opportunity to elect a man who will use common sense to solve big problems and who will tell us important things we don’t want to hear and the challenges we face without misrepresenting the facts.

For the last 7 years, we have seen America gradually loose it’s standing in the world. The value or American Dollar and our economy are on a free fall. European Union and China are on the rise. Many third world countries are beginning to look to China and EU as new masters of the 21st century. Then I ask myself what is the problem and I found the answer. America has been divided into Red and Blue states, Right and Left, Liberal and Conservatives. These divisions have gradually increased within the last two decades. We have spent out time fighting ourselves rather than thinking of the future. We have spent our time thinking only about ourselves rather that our children. I asked my self if this is what the founding fathers envisioned for us as a nation.

But, after looking at Obama’s accomplishment as a State Senator, community organizer, Civil rights lawyer, constitutional law professor and U.S Senator it gave me hope. Throughout his carrier, he has been able to bring people together, Republicans, Democrats, Independents Liberals, Conservatives, Heterosexuals, and Homosexuals. He has brought people together to solve big problems that we face. For example, he help reformed the dead penalty system in Illinois that many people said it could not be done. He help passed the strongest ethics reform bill in Congress since the Watergate. He has worked with both Republicans and Democrats, and many times bulking his party’s traditional positions. If he possesses these qualities, then he could definitely unite this country again around a common purpose. I must add that none of the major Democratic or Republicans candidates have this track record and unique background It is just the right kind of qualities and experience that America desperately needs at this time.

The Senator from Chicago is has both style and substance. He is charismatic and he embodies bold change, more than any other candidate in both political parties. Barack Obama has laid out his vision with great plans for the country. An Educational plan, that many experts acknowledge is the best so far; A Social Security plan, that his chief rival Sen. Clinton has no real plan and has no position; A Universal Health care plan that is achievable; and 21st century Foreign policy plan that will definitely restores America’s standing in the world. This young man has a vision for the country that is unmatched by any of his rivals.

Today, it is clear to me that Barack Obama is the best man to be our next president. I say to all those who are sitting on the fence, and to those who have chosen other candidates already, do not take my words for it. Do not just buy what the major media is selling. Do not choose a candidate because his/her name sounds familiar to you. Do not choose a candidate because of his/her race or gender. But chose a candidate based on what is good for America at this time. The only way to make the right decision is to do what I did and that is research and applied common sense.