Wednesday, October 29, 2008

My Vote for President

In this post, I'm going to reveal my vote for President. I can't remember discussing my vote for President in such a public way before, and I generally prefer to have this discussion in a more personal conversation... but then again this is the first election cycle since I've begun blogging.

So without further delay... I am voting for Barack Obama.

As a registered Republican, it will be my first time voting for a Democrat. My vote is made up of several decision and opinions that I'd like to cover with you. I'd love to hear your feedback.

1) Embarrassment - I am completely embarrassed by the last 4 years of the Bush administration. Having voted for "W" last time mostly due to the "devil you know" theory, I've grown tired of the lack of respect he has brought to the office. I realize that some of this lack of respect is a "snow-ball" effect largely due to the fact that popular culture has been enjoying the natural punchlines in his lack of presence and misspoken words during speeches. Ultimately, not only has President Bush been somewhat of an embarrassment, so have many of his choices for key members of the executive branch organizations. The evidence is easy to find with so many resignations and 'insider' books from former members of the staff.

1a) So what does that have to do with not voting for McCain? I don't have a lot of experience in Washington DC, but what I've learned about the organizations that make up the executive branch, is that they are heavily influenced by members of the party of the President. The members of the executive branch may experience some changes with a McCain presidency, however, my vote for Obama is in part a desire to hit the reset button on as much of that organization as possible.

2) Presidential - Barack Obama is clearly more intelligent, inspiring and poised than John McCain. Evidence? Just watch the debates and the speeches, especially the 'town hall' debate in which McCain was terribly uncomfortable.

2a) So what does 'being Presidential' have to do with the actual issues. In truth, I still identify with the ideals of the Republican party far more that I do with Democrats. For example, I'm harshly opposed to abortion, I don't believe that an increase in taxes on potential employers (those making over 250k) will help the economy, and I'm nervous that removing troops from Iraq too soon could cause some long term instability in a place where we've already invested so much. Despite all of that, I've also learned that I don't have to agree with every position a leader takes in order to respect that leader. So in the wake of the current President, I'm highly concerned with electing strong, intelligent and inspiring leadership to the office, and Barack Obama has demonstrated that character over the past 20 months of campaigning.

2b) With respect to the elders in my life, John McCain is too old. At 72 years old it is hard to believe that he is going to be as connected with the pulse of the this country and the innovations we need in the future. McCain is just a little too late to the party. I'm disappointed with the Republican party for not nominating Mitt Romney, a younger, more intelligent and inspiring leader that would have brought a strong agenda for reducing governmental spending.

Bonus)

I think that spending millions of dollars for a half-hour network broadcast is a lot of money to spend on a commercial, but I really do appreciate an entire half-hour of positive politicking. There was not one negative attack on McCain. The first ad to be run by John McCain after the special was negative and focused on Barack Obama not being ready to be president.

I'm ready for something positive.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Jason.
I don't comment on a lot of blogs but thought I would with this particular post.
I agree completely with you about the embarrassment of the last for years and even agree with your point about Obama being more "presidential."
McCain drove me nuts during the debates. He was more focused on getting in his little tag lines "maverick" and "I have the scars to prove it." and not at all focused on the issues and "casting his vision."
With that said Obama skirted the issues and made confusing statements that didn't lead to anything.
so with all that said I'm not looking forward to either president.
I will be voting for mcCain based on the issues of Taxes, Social security, Abortion (I know McCain isn't strong their but Obama is as liberal as you can be in this area)and I believe McCain has a better grasp of foriegn affairs than does Obama. By the way this is an area I believe his age wisdom, and experiences come into play.

Anonymous said...

Yo Jason,

What a race we have going here! I respect your thoughts on the election. You display valid points on McCain, the past 4 years that no one can argue.

I dont like McCain, He is too old, he does have similarities to Bush. I have never voted for him, however, come next week will be the first.

As someone whom tries to live by the "book" I cant justify a vote for Obama for a bunch of reasons...

Does not support the us constitution

Does not support marriage the way god intended

He will not protect the lives of innocent

He will not supply a valid birth certificate

He has been shown on various occasion his unwillingness to solute our flag

He will ruin our economy with the taxation (the slaughter) of small business

He is a socialist

Obama has already portrayed himself as the savior of this nation. His face on his signage

His advisors and acquaintances are tied to terrorist and criminal organizations

His faith is largely in question. Raised Muslim, attended Muslim schools. Even as a so called “Christian” he follows the racist and anti-American Rev. Wright

He supports taxes that will make those whom worked hard pay for those who don’t work

We are already hearing other nations (that hate us) speak of plans to test his abilities to lead and protect us

While I can agree that he may help some of those in need, I believe it comes at the cost of the grounds on which this great nation was build: our constitution, our freedom, and our God. If he takes those away what will we become?

PEACE BROTHER!!!

Anonymous said...

There are some really good points here and your position is obviously well thought-out. I think you hit the nail on the head with a lot of the reasons for Obama's appeal.

It's honestly a very tough choice for me. Living in a suburb of DC, I'm immersed in political talk all the time, but it feels like the more I hear, the more disenfranchised I become with both parties.

Unfortunately I missed the Obamamercial last night so I can't comment on it, but at this point it seems like McCain thinks his only chance to catch up is to try to shoot a few holes in his armor by fearmongering, which is a shame. All these recent attacks are just sounding petty and desparate.

Jenny said...

Hey JD

I'm with you on Voting for Obama!! We all have our reasons. I can't wait to vote early on Saturday!

Amanda said...

I'm not really ready for the socialist approach Obama is outlining so I am going with McCain on this one. I haven't been in awe of either so far, but Obama has a few too many things that I disagree on.

I will definitely pull the Palin card on this one too...she is down to earth and knows what she's talking about for all of us 'average Americans' - - plus her REAL relationship with God (not just hype) and how much McCain respects her views and opinions helps make voting for McCain a little easier.

Anonymous said...

Jason,

The way it works is that congress controls policy, the president only recomends his agenda. If Obama gets in then Polosi and Reed and the liberal agenda will be forced on us. I do not want to have socialism in this country, because all the men and women who fought and died for our freedoms will be wasted. Obama is a slik salesman and I'm surprised that you drank the kool aide. Obama is not good for this country, he has no experince on anything. He has no record to prove that he took a stance on anything. He has been involved with people who belive in marxism, and you know that when you hang with people long enough they tend to rub off on you. Let me ask you this, when granpa was 72 did you think he was to old? He was still moving prety good. McCain has been going around the country day after day a very strenuous ordeal and seems to be in good shape. Please take another look, a closer look at Obama and you'll see that his agenda is wrong for America.
He will raise taxes on everyone not just those over 250k. He will tax capital gains and that will eliminate jobs, if you have a 401k you can say bye bye to it because they'll come after it. So if you want Obama to "spred the wealth around" and give people (40% of them who don't pay taxes) your money that you worked hard for then go ahead and vote for him. But think about this, our national security is at stake, and I don't want my grandsons growing up in a different America.

Anonymous said...

LOL at everyone calling Obama a socialist. The guy wants to raise the top tax rate up to where it was when Richard Nixon (R) was President. And that makes him a socialist? I suspect many of you don't even know what this word means... you're using it as an empty label.

It's crazy to think we can fight two wars and pay the interest on our debt without tax revenues. Cmon, people. You shouldn't run up your credit cards. It's called financial responsibility.

I can see myself voting republican again as soon as the Christianists lose their stranglehold on Republican power. Small, "stay out of my face" government? Sign me up for that. A party acting like it's the mouthpiece of God? Uhh, no thanks.

If you think God "wants" the Republicans to win, you're a ninny.

There's lots more in the Bible about caring for the sick, poor, and disadvantaged than there is about homosexuality and abortion.

Anonymous said...

Bottom line... I think people are tired of the Bush administration. The Bush administration puts a very bad light on the Republican party as a whole. As a dual bush voter myself, I am ashamed with the mess his administration has put us in. I will personally be voting for the candidate that is not Obama. I don't like McCain personally.

It has nothing at all to do with race. It has everything to do with principles and morals that I have grown to accept as my morals and principles. Obama does represent a HUGE change from the status quo (as his supporters term it).

This then creates a situation where NOTHING at all that can be presented about Obama, means anything to people who truly believe in what he is offering. He is slick. He comes off as a polished, calm and organized individual. He's a great orator. These are all "appearance" things that we in a consumer-driven society flock to. He's motivating when he speaks. He engages people. He makes us want to be apart of something great. Who wouldn't flock to him?

1. People who are not comfortable with the fact that he, whether directly or not, believes in laws that permit the murdering of millions of innocent babies a year or thousands of babies per day. He also suggested that if his daughters became pregnant on "accident" that he wouldn't want them to be "punished" [with a baby]. What!?!? C'mon Jason.

2. Ahmed Yousef of Hamas supports Obama as does the infamous Hezbollah terrorist organization. Obama responded to this saying "“It’s conceivable that there are those in the Arab world who say to themselves, ‘This is a guy who spent some time in the Muslim world, has a middle name of Hussein and appears more worldly and has called for talks with people, and so he’s not going to be engaging in the same sort of cowboy diplomacy as George Bush.’” Do the homework and many other terrorist organizations love the idea of Obama as president. Why!?!

3. Unless Obama was deaf, sitting under Jeremiah Wright for 20 years and having his daughters baptized by him, etc... are you seriously going to tell me you don't have issues with the entire Black Liberation Theology movement and the fact that your candidate believed in it enough to follow it for 20 years and then on a dime just turned away from it. C'mon Jason! Do the homework and read what subscribers to this movement actually believe. Just one example is it preaches bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and that blacks should seek revenge instead of taking the path of forgiveness. This is not even close to what I've been raised to believe in.

4. Magically, without any question or major media attention, his tax figure started at $250k. It then dropped to $200k in his Obama DISinfomercial and Joe Biden has been selling it as $150k. Which is it folks!

I suppose I'll stop here though, because as I opened with... IT DOESN'T MATTER! There are, in my opinion, "lame attempts" to counteract anything and everything that presents itself as a red flag to me as a Christian, so it's really not worth debating them.

I do not claim to be the "mouth piece of God" as one poster suggests.. however... I just get the feeling that Obama is definitely a "wolf in sheeps clothing" and says the things we all want to hear. This scares me!

Adam Straw said...

Jay,

I just want to recognize that it took some guts to post this on your blog, and I appreciate it. Sometimes I feel we hold our personal politics too close to the vest. The comments I have read so far certainly indicate that we are still very divided, but I am of the opinion that we are less divided than we like to think. I think this kind of discussion serves to bring us closer together.

Too many times I feel politics is played out in the US as a team sport. Everyone has their team...Republican or Democrat. These teams where red and blue and hit the field on Tuesdays in November. Forget CNN and Fox News, the election should be held on ESPN.

Both sides have their tactics for keeping the teams together. Recently, the Republican tactics have seemed more apparent to me. If I had to use one word to some up those tactics it would be "fear."

The comments reflect these fears on Obama:

- He is a socialist
- He is going to take our 401k
- He is lying about his tax plan
- He doesn't have a valid birth certificate i.e. he isn't really a citizen
- Terrorist groups support him or plan to test him
- He doesn't support the constitution

Really?

Do we really think that he will increase our taxes when he says he won't, distribute that tax revenue solely to people who don't work so that they can remain jobless, raid our 401k plans, abolish the constitution, appoint a Muslim counsel of leaders and turn this place into Afghanistan?

I think some actually do believe some version of that ridculous story line. I think Rush and Hannity and the like are selling that story on a daily basis and people are buying. I am tired of seeing people from EITHER side simply repeating the talking point they hear from their favorite radio/TV host. I am tired of having political discussions with my friends and co-workers...when, in reality, I am having a discussion with Rush.

From my perspective it appears that you have listened to ALL the arguments, thrown out the outlying data, applied some rational thought and come to a decision. Good for you!

You and I have disagreed on politics in the past. I lean left, you lean right. I am excited to see that someone like Obama might be able to bring us together. I think we all have more in common that we might think. Take taxes and social services...

Can anyone honestly say that everyone who uses social services abuses them? No. Can anyone honestly say that the system works perfectly? No. Can't we agree that at least some of our tax dollars should go to social service plans to help those who need it an in spite of those who abuse it?

I think we have more in common than we all think. I think if we apply some rational thought, as Jason has done, and take some positive action instead of beating the other team up all the time, we will be able to change this country for the better no matter who we vote for.

Anonymous said...

I'm with Jason.

I wonder if I can throw out a few questions for people throwing the "socialist" word around.

#1) From where are you getting your definition of socialist?

#2) Are you basing the allegations of Obama's socialism on anything more substantial than his off-the-cuff comments to the nefarious Joe the Plumber? Because if we're going to nail politicians based on gaffes it seems we have to hold Mccain responsible for the position that Arab men don't love their families.

#3) Do you recognize that our economy is far from purely capitalistic? Our economy is a mixed one, more-or-less half way between a socialist and capitalist one. Many of the things which make it socialistic are ideas that most of us think are pretty good ones: public schools, medicare, medicaid, social security. While the implementations of these might be poor, what do you reccomend as the replacements for them?

#4) We obviously need to pay for some government services. We might cut other ones. Every decision favors somebody at some income level. Every fiscal decision redistrubutes wealth. Why is it that we only cry "foul" when the wealth is distrubuted away from the wealthiest?

My overall point, I guess, is that the word "socialist" can be a smoke screen and a scare tactic.

Anonymous said...

...unless and at which time it's revealed that you actually are a Socialist (or worse).

So, Jason...you're repenting?

Where will you stand if things go badly? Have you taken the time to consider what "plan-B" might be?

You've taken a great deal of time and intellect in trying to pinpoint the failures of Bush. So much so that you glossed over any details save for the lesion in his brain that cripples his communication skills.

Are his ideas sound and his methods weak, or the other way around, or both?

As a conservative myself i can easily defend what has been ostensibly Bush's greatest failure (Iraq and tax policy), and crucify his lesser - and more liberal - noticed positions on immigration and spending. The irony is that Bush's real failures are going to be extended and expanded in perpetuity by either Obama or McCain.

i consider Bush the "half-way president"; every well intentioned policy he's forwarded has been executed in fatal moderation. It's because of this, people like you and me are "embarrassed" when we should be outraged. Why is it that both parties have moved so far left that the center is to the right of McCain? Media.

To the extent that the media has successfully painted Bush as a 'conservative' and tagged the current state of affairs as failed conservative ideals, enough people have been duped into believing the best remedy is a more Socialistic, "fair" approach. Don't you find that a bit...odd?

Any time you hear the word "fair" or any conjugated application of it, get ready to be burdened by sweeping post-modern moral edict. The same people who have been battling "judeo-christian" moral legislation 'infringing on individual rights' are perfectly comfortable embracing a government that arbitrarily identifies who has "too much" for the purpose of redistributing their possessions to those who have not. The logical extrapolation of this type of moral legislation is tyranny.

What if only a small portion of the producers decide to stay home because it's not worth it to do what they do anymore? Who takes over for them? We're already seeing the early affects of what happens when consumers stop spending their money; the economy slows. Has anybody really considered what happens when producers do that?

But hey, you're entitled to jump on the "hope" bandwagon. i applaud your courage (and little else). i sincerely hope that the "change" everybody seems to want isn't more than they bargained for. Be careful what you wish for.

As an encouragement: there is no political savior. It doesn't matter who's president when Jesus is King.

Anonymous said...

>> there is no political savior. It doesn't matter who's president when Jesus is King.

Good. Then don't waste your time with all that irrelevant "voting" business.

destratisphere said...

I respect your thoughts, but I cannot agree with your choice. Reader's comments have been very good and thoughtful. Here's my take.
http://viewsfromthedestratisphere.blogspot.com/2008/11/knuckle-ball.html

Sara said...

Hey jason thanks for sharing and stirring everyone up! bottom line - your salvation isn't based on your 2008 vote for President. As far as my vote goes I'm keeping it to myself but I think Nader is looking good this year ;) ha