Are you still on the fence about Barack Obama?
Maybe you like him, but you also like Hillary Clinton, and you've come to DailyKos to try to figure out what all the Obama hype is about?
This post is for DailyKos lurkers who like Obama but just aren't sure yet. In this diary (continued below the fold) I'll show you some fun video clips you've probably never seen, and make a few arguments in an effort to persuade you!
Bottom-Up Democracy
A couple weeks ago, a woman at a rally in Salem, Oregon said she has friends who are still on the fence, and she asked Obama to summarize the difference between Clinton and himself for these friends. Here was his answer:
The DailyKos community, at least as I understand it (I'm a noob myself), is all about this notion that democracy belongs in the hands of ordinary people, and that politics ought not to be solely "the domain of the rich, connected, and powerful."
Barack Obama has credibility with this community for a couple of reasons. His experience as a community organizer, of course, is not irrelevant. He also has a track record of fighting for ethics & transparency in government. He doesn't accept lobbyist donations. That counts for something if, like me, you believe that lobbyist donations generally come with strings attached.
Obama's Biography, and Who Is Ann Dunham?
You might not be too familiar with Barack's biography. Ann Dunham was his mom. This video has some info about her:
The other night Chris Matthews asked Obama what it was like to be a black kid with a white mom. I loved Obama's answer:
(From the start to the 1:30 mark on this video)
Some people find Obama's biography to be a major selling point. His story is certainly untraditional, but also entirely American.
The International Connection
As a child Obama lived for a time in Jakarta. His candidacy has captured the imagination of Indonesia, as this video shows:
Can you imagine how cool it would be to have a president who has actually lived abroad? Obama is a Christian and was never personally a Muslim, but he once lived in a largely Muslim country, and he has Muslim relatives. As president, he would have enormous good will in Muslim countries. His presidency could help to repair the damage to America's image abroad caused by the mistakes of the Bush administration.
And it's not just Indonesia that loves Obama. There's a town in Japan where he's pretty popular too...
Okay, I'm getting a bit silly by including that link, but I just think it's funny. BUT, Obama is popular all around the world, including in Africa, England, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and India.
The Politics of Hope
There's a cute Obama ad by the little girl from Clinton's famous "3AM" commercial:
The Bush administration has used fear to manipulate the American people. They bullied Republicans and Democrats alike to rubber-stamp their often imprudent policies. That's how the hunt for Osama Bin Laden ended up in Iraq, where Osama Bin Laden was not.
Fear overpowers rational thought. When we're afraid, we stop using common sense.
What the "audacity of hope" is all about, in my mind, is simply a conviction that we ought to be ruled by common sense, not by fear or partisanship, and that our politics ought to reflect the decency of the American people. Part of the appeal of Obama is that he seems to have the ability to stay calm and apply common sense where it has not previously been applied.
That's the sort of person I want answering the phone at 3am.
My Main Issue: The Environment
Don't get me wrong. I care about the economy, Iraq, education, and all the other stuff that gets spotlighted in the media. But my number one issue is the environment. I don't hear the candidates discuss the environment much.
If you agree with me, you might like what Obama has to say about the environment: click here for video.
However, global warming is not the only environmental issue!
Other than reducing carbon emissions and achieving energy independence, what about... clean air? Clean water? Restoring wetlands? Logging? Conservation?
I was pleased to discover that Obama has a comprehensive policy paper on the environment (distinct from his energy plan). It deals with all these issues. You can read it here.
(You can find all of Obama's policy papers here.)
Al Gore has not endorsed either candidate, but did you know that Obama speaks to Gore regularly about the environment? Obama has committed to include Gore in forming the environmental policy in an Obama administration. See this article.
The Power of Ideas
My last diary was called The Best Obama Speeches You Never Saw.
It gave links to really special Obama speeches on race, faith, Iraq, and the economy. (And more great Obama speeches were linked in the comments.)
If you have a few spare minutes, I highly recommend you watch a couple of these speeches. Yes, Obama has charm and he's eloquent, but the real power in his speeches is the power of ideas.
Judgment
As for the debate over experience versus judgment, it all comes down to this: read this speech, the whole thing. Remember, he said this in 2002!
But I Like Both!
There has been conflict between Obama supporters and Clinton supporters, with some nasty words on both sides. It's really too bad, because the venom being spewed is not really reflective of either candidate.
It's okay if you like Hillary Clinton! She's an amazing Democrat, and I for one think she's swell, even though I'm thoroughly in support of Obama. You don't have to join the Rabid-Clinton-Bashers-Society to become an Obama supporter.