Why I'm Backing Barack
By guest author Miriam Landman of M. Landman Communications and Consulting
I’ve been paying close attention to the presidential candidates’ campaigns in the news and on various websites for many months now, and I’ve concluded that Barack Obama is the best candidate to lead our country. The following are just a few of the factors that brought me to this conclusion:
1. HIS CHARACTER, CREDIBILITY, AND TONE: Everything I’ve learned about who Obama is and what he has done has convinced me that he is a principled and effective reformer who will challenge the status quo of corruption and gridlock in our government, and the apathy in our citizenry. His statements and goals for "change" go way beyond idealistic rhetoric. He strikes me as quite a serious and sincere person. He is thoughtful, straightforward, and clear about his positions. As just one key example, he has always taken a clear stand against the war in Iraq, a stand that showed good judgment and a willingness to risk his political career by speaking out about what was right. He has also championed ethics reform, and his legislative achievements demonstrate that he has been both progressive and pragmatic. As an environmentalist, I am also very impressed with his voting record on environmental issues.
Overall, the two Democratic candidates’ positions on major policy issues do not differ significantly. So it’s entirely fair to look at differences in their approach, their character, their tone. These things do matter. The tone of Obama’s remarks has been inclusive and even-tempered. He is not combative. He doesn’t want to engage in the petty game of tit-for-tat: the vicious cycle of offending and being offended that currently passes for political discourse. He doesn’t see issues in black and white; he recognizes the shades of complexity, and he understands that ends do not justify means. He is known for being a unifying and conciliatory force; he has a touch for eliciting cooperation and seeking common ground and consensus. It seems to me that these are some of the most important skills that a President can possibly have.
I would certainly like to see a woman serve as President of the United States, and there's no question that Hillary Clinton is knowledgeable, qualified, and politically connected, but those qualities alone do not make her the best candidate or the best leader for our country. With all due respect, there is a better candidate.
We don’t have to choose between style and substance. Obama has both. I'm not naively idealizing or romanticizing him. He, like any human being, has his flaws. We can’t expect anyone to be perfect. But I see him as a person of real integrity, a person who genuinely means what he says and who cares about people, more than he cares about having power.
2. HIS UNIQUE ABILITY TO CATALYZE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: Obama's poise and eloquence give him the rare ability to inspire, empower, and motivate masses of people. He’s not just a politician; he’s a born leader. His words have given large numbers of youth, minorities, and formerly apathetic or disenchanted citizens a reason to participate in the political process and vote for the first time (or the first time in a long time). He has re-energized and broadened the Democratic base, because he has refused to accept a narrow or cynical view of the electorate, and because his message resonates with all types of people. He's gaining an army of excited grassroots supporters who have finally found a politician they trust and admire.
Inspirational leadership is not something to belittle or ignore. Ridiculing Obama’s throngs of supporters as a “cult” of gullible followers is absurd and insulting. Those who know me can attest that I’m hardly someone who’s prone to hero worship or jumping onto bandwagons. And Obama’s endorsers include an impressive number of thoughtful and highly esteemed people (Chris Dodd, Patrick Leahy, Bill Bradley, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Caroline Kennedy, to name only a few). Sure, some of his supporters act like fawning fans, and some of the slogans are cheesy, and some of the rallies sound more like (secular) church revivals than political events. But the Obama phenomenon is no cult or bandwagon. It’s a movement. It’s been so long since the country has seen this type of energy and optimism around political issues that some people seem to have forgotten what democratic involvement looks like. This is the way things should be. Getting more people to vote—and to care about politics, and the future, and their fellow humans—is good for our democracy and good for our country and world, not to mention a good way to win an election. Which brings me to...
3. ELECTABILITY: Rush Limbaugh, Karl Rove, and Ari Fleischer are all hoping that Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee; they (and many others) have publicly admitted that it would be hard for John McCain to beat Obama. Their assessment is supported by general election polls, which have shown that Obama is much more likely than Hillary Clinton to win in a race against McCain. In part, this is due to the Clintons’ baggage. A high level of Clinton fatigue and strong anti-Clinton sentiments still linger across America, sentiments which are likely to galvanize Republicans to come out to vote against Senator Clinton. (There were "Impeach Hillary" bumper stickers while she was still First Lady.) But the main thing that gives Obama the edge against McCain is that Obama appeals to many independent voters, “red state” Democrats, and even some disaffected Republicans, as well as progressive Democrats, while Clinton has very little support from these disparate groups. Obama has built a diverse and powerful coalition, and his base of support just continues to grow as more people get to know about him. McCain has some support from voters outside his party, but Obama has more. Non-Democrats see that he is not an ideologue, and they appreciate that he doesn’t vilify his opponents. They recognize that he listens to differing perspectives and is respectful.
I happen to be a 34-year-old, white, female, middle-class Democrat who grew up in Michigan, and who now lives in California. But my demographic profile doesn’t really matter. Obama is showing that he can appeal to people of all walks of life, in every demographic and in every region. The prevailing assumption that many whites would not vote for him has not proven true; he has won by wide margins in states where there are very few people of color.
It would be tragic for McCain to be elected as President, after all the damage that has been done domestically and internationally during these long, dark Bush years. Years ago, I thought McCain seemed fairly reasonable and decent, but he’s lost my trust. He thinks our troops should stay in Iraq indefinitely, and he has made thoroughly irresponsible, war-mongering statements about Iran. He has also called for overturning Roe v. Wade and he's helped nominate the right-wing Supreme Court Justices who could do just that if they get one more like-minded Justice to tip the scales. To me—and to the majority of Americans—these things are unacceptable.
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Obama’s remarkable journey from unknown long-shot to frontrunner has come about partly because of who he is, what he offers, and what the country needs at this point in history. It is also the result of a smart and well-run campaign that’s grounded in Obama’s community organizing experience, his top-notch team of advisors, and the bottom-up involvement and small donations from millions of supporters, which have allowed the campaign to remain free from a reliance on federal lobbyists’ contributions and the strings that are inevitably attached. The way Obama and his team have run his campaign bodes well for the way he (and his Cabinet) will lead our country.
The political mood of this country calls for a clean slate. Obama’s candidacy offers us the very rare opportunity to elect a principled leader who can help make our government more effective and respected, and who will represent the best ideals of our democracy. It is an opportunity that we must seize.
P.S. If you haven’t made up your mind about which candidate to support, I hope you will seek out more information about Senator Obama. I invite you to check out some of the articles and other links that I’ve posted on my site, or check out the Obama campaign site, which features substantive information, including: Issues, Fact Checks, and News. -ML
Map graphic via Purple States.org, © 2008, Ed Mullen. As you can see, our electoral "red" and "blue" states don't look quite so starkly divided when the 2004 popular vote is accurately represented as appropriate blends of red and blue to produce more nuanced shades of purple.
