Besides the obvious. I mean, yes, the little meter on my Facebook page says that I’m “Very Liberal.” And I do fall smack in the middle of his target demographic: a twenty-something college-educated urbanite with interests in the arts, media, and culture. I’ve spent all of my life in overtly liberal cities: Los Angeles, Boulder, and New York. And yes, there’s the super obvious. He’s not John McCain. He’s not a republican.
But are any of these reasons good enough to elect somebody to be leader of the free world? To be honest, I’ve been lazy. I haven’t done much research. I don’t know what Obama or McCain stand for. I don’t know much about their voting records or their candidates for Vice President.
I know it would look great for America’s international relations to have a minority running the country. But is that is a good enough reason? Sure, Obama’s a young, charismatic, accomplished half-black, half-white American. But so is Derek Jeter. Would voting for Obama just because he is black be any more sensible than voting for McCain just because he is white?
I know Obama’s an advocate for change, hope, and progress. But I don’t even know what that means. These promises are as empty as the sloganeering in an Anti-Flag song or the vapidness of a a Cliche-Guevara t-shirt wearing yuppie drinking at Starbucks. What change? What kind of progress? Isn’t everybody an advocate for hope? All I hear from Obama is what people want to hear.
This isn’t a slag on Obama, or his supporters. I just hope we’re all paying attention. Unfortunately we live in a country where we’ll never have much more of a choice than two candidates. We’re also unfortunately in a time where anything too extreme (liberal or conservative) runs the risk of throwing things even further out of whack. We’re a generation that has been handed a world that is completely and utterly fucked. A world that truth-be-told may never be repaired. We’re the first generation in a long time where people are afraid to have children because they feel like it wouldn’t be right to bring somebody into a such a chaotic place.
So, what does Obama stand for? Why should I like him? Just six weeks before the election, I’m putting my time in. I’m doing my research. Let me know why. I’m serious. Leave it in the comments. Start a discussion. I know I should like him. But I’m still not sure why.
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September 19, 2008 at 6:24 pm
What are your core issues? That’d be a good place to start.
September 19, 2008 at 6:29 pm
I agree. I am also a true left winger.
Obama is great at avoiding implementation issues on Health care, and the economy. This is what leaves the biggest question mark in my head.
It seems most politicians, when the get close to their goal try to avoid address how hey will address their key result areas, but tend to wax aggressive against their opponent instead.
September 19, 2008 at 6:35 pm
to jonolan
my core issues aren’t important. i think any democrat, or liberal, is going to basically agree on those things.
what i’m worried about is the future. when will this war end? when will the economy even out? when will health-care be more readily available? i think that all of these things are grossly tied together and i’m curious to how they will be fixed.
September 19, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Ahhh,
Well you’re screwed then.
1) Obama doesn’t plan on bringing the troops home. He wants then redeployed into Afghanistan and Pakistan. Essentially so does McCain and nobody is sure anymore if there’s any difference in their time tables.
2) Obama does have a more comprehensive healthcare plan, but the current economy has made him “rethink” implementing the tax increases to fund it, so it might be a dead horse.
3) Economically, Obama hasn’t presented much in the way of a plan that didn’t call for taxation that he is now “unsure” of implementing in the first term.