Why I’m Voting for Barack Obama

Really, I could list a thousand reasons for voting for Barack Obama tomorrow. I could talk about all the negative things that have happened in this country in the last eight years, but my decision for Obama all boils down to this: Peace, Love and Understanding.

Peace
I remember telling my boys that there was no way that the United States would ever get into another Vietnam. That we were too smart. That people had learned their lesson. That there was way too much information out there for old men to start wars that are fought by young men. That was eight years ago. I was wrong.

What’s the matter with a little peace? I was fortunate to live through Pax Americana. I was born in 1959, which was only one of four birth years in the modern era when young men didn’t have to register for Selective Service. The Vietnam war ended when I was in high school. Nixon was forced to resign. And we cared. What happened?

We got scared. I know that America’s first response, when faced with fight or flight, is to fight. I recognize that when there’s a real threat. But I don’t get it at all when we’re out there picking fights. We’ve wasted $300 billion and over 4,000 American lives in Iraq. Remember the lie we were told about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction? They didn’t….but we did. Four thousand American dead and over 100,000 Iraqis killed. How’s that for WMD?

Here’s what I know about Barack Obama: He’s not going to be a fool and rush in where angels fear to tread. Obama is going to extract us from Iraq, he’s going to hunt down bin Laden, and he’s going to talk to people rather than using the ready-fire-aim approach that’s been so disastrous for the past eight years.

Love
I’m looking for a leader who loves people. And not just people who look a certain way or have a spare billion dollars or two to throw around. This is about a love of the people of the world. I trust that Barack Obama is going to care as much about the millions of people who are dying in Darfur as he cares about the 45 million Americans without health insurance. I’m sure he’s going to care more about people than oil companies. And I’m sure that Obama is going to show Americans what it’s like to love their country again — and those will be more than just words on talk radio.

Understanding
This is a big world and it requires a president who can surround himself with smart people, process information quickly, and know how to make the right decisions. Plus, it’s going to take a president who has a sense about real people. Barack Obama didn’t have a silver spoon when he was growing up. He came from a broken home. He wasn’t wealthy. He was black. And he was white. He grew up in Hawaii and Thailand and in the Heartland — Kansas, USA. Obama graduated at the top of his class at Harvard Law School and was the first African-American to head the Law Review. He was a community organizer. He knows people — and not just wealthy people. He understands that in this world there are finer points to be considered. It’s about knowing that being “right” depends on a lot of information.

I could go on and on. I own a small business that would kick Joe the Plumber’s ass. I’m willing to pay my fair share of taxes — which, by the way, is a 3% marginal rate for income over $250,000 a year — because I got the benefits of lower taxes when I made less money. I’m not into the “I got mine, now you get yours” mentality. I think that “socialist” label is ridiculous. I want to hope again. I’m voting for Barack Obama because of the reasons I listed above. Most of all, I’m voting for Barack Obama for my children. I want them to be proud when they’re my age and are looking back on these days that they know that we, as a nation, stood up and did the right thing.