Why I Plan to Barack the Vote

I've already caught some flack from my dear old dad because I jokingly said that he looked like Barack Obama in the suit he was wearing tonight and I offhandedly mentioned that I planned on voting for him. Oh, why? I love my dad to bits, but trying to explain to him that it is possible to vote Democratically while not supporting abortion or being a gay rights activist is futile. Explaining is all I wish to do, and isn't a blog a lovely way to do that? It'll be a little lengthy, but hang with me.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an email from a friend of mine who was checking out Obama because of dissatisfaction with McCain:

I've been following the Primaries, and this is the first presidential election that I've really paid attention to.

I've been rooting for Mike Huckabee on the Republican side, but it looks like McCain will probably ride into victory the next few weeks. That's caused me to look a lot closer at the Democratic side.

Although I don't agree with the moral or economical points of view of either of the Democratic candidates, I'm interested in their ideas because one of them will probably be leading the country by this time next year.

I've been reading a lot of articles about Obama, and the people who are attracted to his campaign, and am leading towards his direction. I would be more accepting of his election than Hillary Clinton's simply because a Bush or a Clinton has been in the White House since 1989. That's entirely too long! :)

But from a demographic standpoint, you fit into most of the categories that seem to be the most supportive of Obama's campaign. You're young (college student), black, and female. What is your opinion (as a young, black female) of Barack Obama? What is your opinion of him as a Christian, young, black female?

I'm really trying to analyze this whole process from every different angle. You're one of the most sensible, knowledgeable, and open-minded Christians that I know, so I figured I could gain a lot from your opinion.

Thanks.

My response:

First of all, thank you for saying that I'm one of the most "sensible, knowledgeable and open-minded Christians" that you know. That was such a sweet compliment!

But let me make a few statements before I get to answering your questions. This too, is the first presidential race I've paid really close attention to.

Of course, I voted in 2000 and in 2004, but this is the first one I've followed closely from the primary stage. I don't admit this to many people, but thus far. I've voted Democratically. Of course, as a Christian, I do not agree completely with the Democratic platform on moral issues, but they've never been "dealbreakers" for me. Whether a Rep or a Dem is in office, Roe v. Wade will never be overturned, and gay marriage is and probably always will be left up to the states. I think both parties' stances on these issues are more for grandstanding purposes than actual intended policy change.

[And I must insert here, seriously, Republicans were in control of the White House and Congress for eons. But nothing was passed to actually put into effect anything that radically altered the status quo as far as abortion/gay marriage is concerned, or rather, that backed up the "moral stances" they take. Those issues, and I should include immigration as well, are issues that politicians use as pawns to get votes. And boy has it worked.]

At the beginning of this race, I was very disheartened. No one on either side really excited me. When Hillary was the Dem frontrunner, I kind of nixed voting for her--I'm not keen on the continuation of the Clinton dynasty either, and though I didn't mind Huckabee, I didn't see him as appealing to independent voters as McCain, and at the time, his campaign was declared dead. I almost considered not voting. At that time, I saw Obama's emergence as idealism to the max. Come on, a young, inexperienced black man? With the machine backing her, Clinton's going to blow this skinny little dude out of the water.

But once Obama started gaining a bit more attention, I paid closer attention to him. And when I heard him speak for the first time, I got goosebumps. He speaks with such conviction. And I really like it that he doesn't employ Jesse Jackson/Al Sharpton-esque rhetoric. My God, am I glad for that. I'm tired of people thinking those two are the spokespeople of all living black people. Anyway, I started having a change of heart. Obama (as well as everybody else now) is the poster child for "change." And the reason I believe him is because he gives me the impression that he is genuinely for bipartisanship. He gives me the impression that when/if he takes office, he is going to make an effort to reach out to Republicans by including them in important administrative positions--no more of this Clinton-style you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours mess.

And though I will admit being a teeny bit swayed by his charisma and presence, I don't feel that that is all he has going for him. From what I've read and heard, his policies have substance and specificity--he's not just running on charisma fumes. And I feel that because of his upbringing and experience, he has the perfect mix of diversity that makes Americans of all races and walks of life identify with him. And right now, the world hates us. Seriously, people abroad have such a low view of Americans--primarily because of our heavy handed, isolationist foreign policy, and I think Obama has what it takes and is willing to change that view.

Once he won Iowa, I, for the first time, felt that he actually had a chance. I felt hope. I changed from being disheartened about the presidential race to being excited about it. And I've been rooting for him ever since. And the thing is, not only do I think he can win, I think there's a big fat chance that he will! Look, McCain has the Rep nomination in the bag. (I did like Huckabee though.) Although McCain has appeal among independents, his base is not exactly rallying behind him. Obama has a good amount of base support, and he also has very wide independent appeal. In fact, there are even a lot of Reps (maybe not in significant numbers . . . I'm not sure) I've heard and read about and even know personally who are for him. The same can most definitely NOT be said about Clinton. There are Dems who would rather vote for McCain than for her if she won the Dem nomination. She is such a divisive figure . . . that's just the fact of the matter.

So in sum, this is what Obama has going for him (not in order of importance):
1-Charisma and motivating/rallying power
2-Concrete, specific, fresh policy ideas
3-Willingness to commit to genuine bipartisanship
4-Widespread/unifying appeal to Americans from diverse backgrounds
5-Willingness to truly effect change in the way American politics are run and in our reputation abroad.

Whew! I know that was a lot, but let it soak in for a minute. Though my friend was right that I do fit into the typical demographic of an Obama supporter, the amazing thing is that Obama has since shown that he garners support from a multiplicity of demographics. I'm sure I'll have more to say about it later, but now I'm interested in the kinds of comments I may get from having posted this!