November 2, 2008
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Why I Voted for Obama
I voted for Barick Obama via mail as an absentee voter on Friday. I am a registered Democrat, but at one time I was a "Young Republican." These days I am not feeling much allegiance to any particular party and my views are leaning more toward a Libertarian than anything else. Although I do generally vote, I am mostly disgusted with our political system.
I support Obama because I feel he is the better choice to lead the nation as our next President. He's highly intelligent, articulate and has a special ability to connect to people not only in the United States, but all over the globe. It doesn't mean I support everything he says or does but of the two main choices we are presented with, he's the stronger candidate in my view.
Here are my main concerns about McCain:
1. He's just too old. Beyond the obvious heath concerns he's simply from another generation. His perspective on the world was shaped during the Cold War and Vietnam Conflict. The world has changed, but I'm not sure it's reasonable to expect McCain has. He seems brash and quick to act (or react) without thinking things through carefully. His hot headedness is well documented. In fact he is known as "Senator Hothead" in Washington! Perhaps he thinks this is OK since he's a cowboy type "maverick." I think it is very dangerous with independencies of the new global economy.
2. By selecting Sarah Paulin as his running mate, McCain demonstrated to the world that he has exceedingly bad judgment. Good judgment is something you can't buy and it doesn't always go hand in hand with intelligence or experience either. I've seen a number of attorneys with very poor judgment at my office. I think it's obvious to just about everyone that Sarah Paulin is not Presidential material. She's not ready now and she will never be ready. It is truly frightening to think she would be one heartbeat away from the Presidency, especially given McCain's age. I do not under any circumstance want someone in the Oval office who is capable of making such a poor decision about their running mate.
3. McCain is out of touch with technology. It's my understanding he doesn't even really use the Internet. This sort of relates to my discussion listed above in #01, but is a serious enough concern to deserve it's own mention. It's hard to underestimate the way the Internet has changed everything in the modern world. I simply can't imagine a President who is not clued into it. It would be OK for 1976, but it's not OK in 2008.
4. I am very concerned about what would happen to the balance of the Supreme Court should McCain win the election. Several very old moderate or liberal members will almost certainly retire during the next President's term. The court is likely to swing way too far to the right if more Republican nominees are added to the bench. Since Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life, this is very troubling with wide ranging implications that would go far beyond McCain's term(s). Supreme Court decisions affect all of us more than most people realize.
5. I've had enough of Republican shenanigans with the present Administration (and Congress). McCain may not be George W. Bush, but as Obama has pointed out, he voted along side him 95% of the time. This was verified on FactCheck.org. So much for being a "maverick" and standing for change.
The War in Iraq was completely unjustified and an illegal war in my view. The deceit regarding WMD and subsequent human rights violations that came to light severely diminished the standing of the United States in the eyes of the world. It also has wasted untold billions of dollars of tax dollars at a time when the budget deficit is spinning out of control, a problem our children will be left with. Iraq was not a terrorist threat and distracted us from fighting the real war on terrorism. I believe the real reasons we are in Iraq was to finish the job Bush Sr. failed to do, provide lucrative government contracts to large corporations that with cozy relationships to the Bush family and secure oil fields in preparation for the upcoming resource wars (due to the very serious peak oil problem).
As for Bin Laden, I wouldn't worry too much about him. If our government really wanted him, I firmly believe we would have had him long ago. I'm sure we know exactly where he is right now. It's very convenient for Bin Laden to remain free as the poster boy for terrorism. So long as this terror "boogieman" remains free, the government has an excuse to continue to run amok in the name of fighting terrorism. It's a dream come true for war hawks, as the "war" on terrorism is endless and unwinnable. In the meantime, our civil liberties are becoming more and more eroded and our nation is going bankrupt.
McCain's criticism that Obama's desire to "spread the wealth" amounts to "socialism" is simultaneously sad, hilarious and ironic. It's sort of a throw back to the "commie" scare in the 50's. It reflects his outdated world view I mentioned above. All governments, including the United States engage in some socialist behavior. When we are taxed and the revenue is used to assist the poor via welfare checks, food stamps and housing assistance, is that not "spreading the wealth?"
And what about all these recent mega bailouts of huge corporations? The government recently purchased a substantial stake in all of the nations largest banks. The government also took over scads of defaulted mortgages. If that isn't socialism what is? And McCain was right there, pressing hard for an "emergency bill" we absolutely cannot afford to assist all these inefficient dog corporations, even taking time off the campaign trail to do so.
The fact is, there's no room for anything like this in a pure capitalistic society. In a true free market, we would permit failing companies to go into bankruptcy and allow the invisible hand to sort out the mess. I suspect the more we monkey with the free market, the worse the economy will get. Milton Friedman must be rolling over in his grave!
On Tuesday, stop the drama, vote Obama!
Just two days until the election, and three days until the chat event with Jade Marcela on 11.05.08 at 7 PM (Pacific Standard Time)! Here's another photo of this Indonesian beauty.
-- Snowman
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