Ten Reasons Why I Voted For Barack Obama

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Tuesday February 05, 2008 · 2:33 PM PST

2008/02/05 · 14:33

... and why I think you should, too.

I have just cast my vote in the California primary election for Barack Obama. Here are ten reasons why (some of which include reasons why I am not voting for Hillary Clinton - some of my reasons "for" Obama are also reasons "against" Hillary):

Barack Obama has promised to end the war in Iraq and restore habeas corpus. He has never voted to support the war in Iraq. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, has repeatedly voted to support war in Iraq.

He supports upgrades to the Social Security system, which I currently depend on (citation here, page 7 - PDF file).

He supports ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (citation here, question #11). When asked the same question, Senator Clinton gave a wishy-washy, nonresponsive answer (citation here, question #11).

He supports the appointment of Supreme Court Justices who resemble Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer (citation here, question #10). Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, refused to answer that question directly, instead prattling on about how she opposed Alito and Roberts (citation here, question #10).

He has run a positive campaign, emphasizing hope and progress, rather than hate and fear. Hillary, on the other hand, tried to swift-boat Obama on Iraq (claiming that he wasn't really against the war from the beginning, even though he was and is). She uses terrorism as a rhetorical tool and fear as a weapon. That makes me feel just plain icky about her.

Patrick Nielsen Hayden's observation that "I think a Hillary Clinton candidacy will be another game of inches, yielding—at best—another four or eight years of knifework in the dark [...] I think an Obama candidacy might actually shake up the whole gameboard, energize good people, create room and space for real change [...] Because when I watch him speak, I see fearful people becoming brave" is absolutely spot-on.

I think that he will be a far more effective candidate simply because Hillary Clinton is too polarizing. If she gets the nomination, I predict right-wingers pouring out in force on Voting Day to vote against her, where I don't think they will be as mobilized to vote against Barack Obama.

As evidenced by items 7 and 8 above, when asked a question, Barack Obama gives a leader's answer, not a politician's answer. He tells it like it is, and takes decisive positions. We desperately need that right now.

He absolutely opposes torture, and said as much on November 10, 2007:

"When I am this party's nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don't like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture — because it is never ok." (emphasis mine)

His record speaks for itself. He is committed to bringing this country back out of the dark age that it's been in for eight years and moving towards a better future, flat-out and full speed ahead. And you just can't say that about Hillary, no matter how hard you try.

Now. If you haven't voted yet, and there's a primary going on in your state today, get your ass out there and vote already... and I hope I've convinced you to vote for Barack.

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