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POPSSome REAL Changes
Although people are saying that Obama is emphasizing experience over change, they overlook the fact that it in and of itself is a change. Here are the changes I'm excited about: 1. Expertise Over Loyalty Most recent presidents have surrounded themselves with yes-men and toadies. Obama is forsaking the insular model of the Bush Administration in favor of one that will certainly promote debate. This is VERY good for making realistic policy decisions. 2. Expertise over Ideology Thompson says this "doesn't make political sense." However, did it occur to him that the Defense Department is not an appropriate place to play politics? A military that is motivated by ideological concerns rather than strategic ones is exactly how we have gotten ourselves into destructive, counter-productive, and losing wars in the past. 3. Experience at all The Bush Administration went out of its way to disregard experts of all stripes. Finally, a President who values people who are good at what th
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POPSI support Obama on Issues, not because of the Cult of Personality I don't worship Barak Obama. I don't think he's a savior, or even an angel. Although the novelty of him being a "black" president is entertaining, I don't really care about that either. (Honestly, it seems a little strange that we are so self-congratulatory over 'voting for a black man,' as if that should be really impressive somehow.) Why do I support Barak Obama? Because of all the people running for President, I believe he has the best ideas on what direction our country needs to take. I would like to see much of his platform made into reality, and because of that, I will vote for him. I don't want to waste all our time arguing of personal slights and vauge rumors. Let's get to the issues. Here is why I support Barak Obama:
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POPSInexperienced Republican vs. Inexperienced Democrat So I've been having a lot of heated discussions on exactly how important it is for a candidate to be experienced. My view is: not at all. Knowledge matters. Belief matters. Judgment matters. But experience in Washington is a minus for me. Hopefully, now, this will put the experience debate to bed. Shame on Barbra Boxer for making the same argument against Palin that she dismisses against Obama! Both tickets are a good mix of experience and freshness. If Democrats want to take on Palin, they should have enough wherewithal to criticize her political positions, just like Republicans should stop whining about manufactured personal issues with Obama and get to the meat of why they don't like him: the issues.
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POPSThree White People Who Won't Be Voting For Barak Obama People still keep talking about how racism among "working class whites" (that's media code for "po' white trash") will not vote for Obama because he is black. I'm getting seriously tired of this. Working class people in America aren't any more racist than the class of Americans who are too wealthy to work. Sure, there are some people who are racist and won't vote for him, and that shocks people so it gets a lot of attention. But seriously, look at these three guys: do you think they vote AT ALL? (remember, something like 60% of America doesn't!) Nobody is talking about all the working class whites who had trouble voting for John Kerry or Al Gore. If Obama loses, it will be because of the pathetic Democratic Party itself, not because he is black.
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POPSHillary's Own Sexism Although there is a lot of talk about sexism, and how it is to blame for Hillary's defeat, I think people are barking up the wrong tree. Obama never campaigned against Hillary on the basis that as a woman she would be "unelectable" because conservative "swing voters" would never elect a woman. On the other hand, she did make that case against Obama on account of his race. In fact, nobody ever questioned Hillary's ability to lead the country, as a woman or otherwise. The should have: her foreign policy is scary and ignorant. But the most sexist person in the race was Hillary herself. Her campaign, with the pant-suits and tough guy attitude (especially on Iran) seemed to reflect her own belief that if a woman was going to win, she had to convince people that she was "one of the guys." I think almost anyone who would vote for Obama would also vote for a woman - if it was the right woman. What I'm not willing to do is vote for any woman simply for the sake of making history.
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POPSThe Jew Problem Let's see how many people click on that title! I hope I have your attention now, because this is important! Some politically active Jews, although certainly passionate, often have trouble telling friend from foe. The belief among Jews that the Christian Fundamentalist Evangelical community is a friend is a big mistake. Some worry that Obama is part of the nation of Islam, or Palestinian, or that he won't help Israel. But they think the GOP will. But what is the Christian Right's agenda in helping Israel? Clearly, right-wing evangelical fundamentalists like Hagee have no tenderness or fondness for Jews. They believe Israel is simply a part of God's ultimate plan leading to the apocalypse. Although they support the Jews returning to Israel, they also believe it is Biblical prophecy that there will be continuous warfare, so they don't support peace, but an Israel besieged. Many believe this is the prelude to the final destruction of the Jews by a wrathful God.
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POPSMcCain: A Critical Weakness on Foreign Policy McCain's critical weakness on foreign policy is that he knows next to nothing about it. Although I have a lot of respect of McCain, I think he falls into the typical trap of myopic patriotism. Many people love their own country so much that they are blind to the reality of the world outside their borders. The outside world is a place where America is a pretty good nation, but has certainly seen better days. The outside world is a place where our enemies occasionally have legitimate points, and certainly have lives and families much like our own. In the reality beyond our borders, the US isn't guaranteed to win every fight, especially when we go in on shaky ground. In the reality beyond our borders everyone has to talk, whether they like it or not, because in the end, nations, like people, are created equal. McCain knows everything about the US Military, but knows nothing about our enemies. With a perspective like that, how can we expect to win?
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POPSThe Way the Race Card Plays... For all the (disturbing) talk about how being black is bad for the Democratic party, nobody seems to be noticing that it also has its good sides. I mean, people worry about Obama's abilty to capture the working class white vote, but why doesn't anyone worry about Hillary's (rapidly diminishing) ability to capture the black vote? After all, by campaigning on the idea that a black man can't represent America, isn't she destroying her ability to get the black vote? (Not to mention white votes, like mine, that are really frightened by that kind of rhetoric?) What I love about an Obama McCain election is that it scrambles the map. Some blue states would definitely prefer McCain, while some red states are certainly leaning towards Obama. At last, we have a chance to break down America's polarization.
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POPSApocalypse Iraq (Now, and probably for another 20 to 30 years.) Here are some quotes from the congressional hearings, by Senators Clinton, Obama, McCain and Willard to Generals Petraeus and Kurtz. ;) Obama, in my opinion, made the most salient point: we will not be able to get everything we want from Iraq. We need to be honest about that. For the past three years, Bush has shown no strategy aside from throwing more American blood and treasure into the vacum of chaos he created. He is biding his time, simply prolonging the disaster so he won't have to suffer the indignity of retreat. He's saving that for his hapless successor. The disgusting truth is that, while we can't get everything we want from Iraq, it don't have to lose so much. Allow me to outline the compromises I think we need to make:
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POPSTears for the future... You know I hate to admit it, but it's true. Obama may be a "rock star" (although he's no Jim Morrison) and he may be a great guy (although he's no Bobby Kennedy) I have to agree: on the hard issues, he hasn't shown us that he has what it takes. This was exactly the failure of Royale (Sego) in France. The sad thing is that, although it took me years of college and field research to do it the hard way, I estimate that with the resources of a national politician, and about $25,000,000 it would only take about three or four months of intensive study to come up to speed on the relevant facts of Islamic "terrorism" and the situation in Iraq, both military and civilian. Why is it that I some how feel that quite a few of the people on Clipmarks are more qualified to lead the country than any of the people currently running? (Both left and right!) Come to think of it, why aren't any of you guys running? How long will it be before we get an erudite, informed and passionate leader?
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