Why I like Obama

I’m not gonna talk like I have been down with Obama since the start. I had been hearing about Obama for a while and then I finally started to learn about him in his article in GQ (September 2007). Not that he was my man then, but I definitely took an interest.

Once the campaigning began and sides were beginning to be chosen, I had a decision to be made (for me it was between Edwards, Clinton, and Obama). I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know the ins and outs of Obama’s policies but my choice was Obama for many reasons. I think Obama is charismatic and has the ability to move people into action more than any other candidate. I like that he’s young and that he IS more in touch with my generation than any other candidate (you can’t hate on that, there’s a lot of people who like McCain for the same reason). Obama has worked for community organizations and understands the importance and impact of individuals and grass roots organizations on the community. Overall, I think Obama has the greatest ability to infect change, to inspire people to live up to their potential and to try to make the change they want to see, as opposed to waiting for someone else to do it.


Now since becoming the presumptive nominee, Obama has been far from perfect, hell, he’s even been quite human. He has tripped up a couple times, misspoke and there are certain policies I don’t agree with (of all the things you choose to highlight in keeping from no child left behind, a useless program, you keep standardized testing?! Really?!). But through it all, I still see the man I supported from the beginning (I sound like I’m writing wedding vows). The reasons I stated before are still the same reasons that I support him to this day, regardless of how he messes up.

I think, as Americans, we are hoping to elect a president who will step up and make all the change we will need. While we sit back in Starbucks and talk on our iPhones, somehow the President will solve the credit crisis, pull the country out of debt, pull out of Iraq while keeping the peace, provide health care for everyone, end our dependency on foreign oil, and give us $600 every time we’re down. America has become too complacent as the “world’s greatest nation” and we, frankly, have gotten lazy. The truth is, no matter who we elect, it’s not going to get your friend out of debt, keep your neighbor in their house, or give your baby cousin the education they need to be successful in life.

We, as Americans, need to start caring again. We need to protect our own, and by that I mean our communities, both on the local and global level. We need to think of the impact of our decisions when it comes to things such as education, dividing up city spending, and speaking out against injustice; Get out to vote! On the global level, we need to think about our impact on global warming, the drinking water supply, implementing legitimate green energy (forget ethanol, it does way more harm than good) and reducing the amount of waste we have. We need to start being proactive in our decisions, taking some time out of our busy lives to slow down, appreciate what we have, and give what we can to those in our communities. Volunteer our time and money to local organizations and global issues.

I think Obama has the greatest ability to move people. I think he’s a positive person to have in charge of this country that might allow us to rebuild the international bridges we have burned over the past 8 years. What we need to realize that if we want to be the world’s greatest nation, “we the people” are going to have to work just as hard as the guy we elect.


OBAMA ‘08