My Top Ten Reasons for Supporting Barack Obama

1. Barack Obama is a visionary leader. He is not only charismatic and inspirational, but also highly intelligent and creative. After having met him twice here in Iowa, I can tell you that he is incredibly responsive and empathetic to other people's needs and concerns. Obama has assembled an incredible grassroots movement that is fighting for real change in Washington. The legions of Obama supporters and the effectiveness of his campaign organization are definitive proof of his phenomenal leadership abilities. During the recent crisis on Wall Street, Obama demonstrated steady leadership and offered sound proposals. In contrast, John McCain has been increasingly erratic, uninformed, and irresponsible in his rhetoric about the economy.

2. Barack Obama is truly an independent thinker. While John McCain was following the neo-conservative Republican agenda and voting in favor of waging war against Iraq in 2002, Obama strongly opposed the war from the very beginning. Obama - who majored in international relations in college - was well aware of the dangers and pitfalls of such a preemptive unwarranted move. He understood that Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11 and would only distract us from finishing the job in Afghanistan. That's why he clearly and unambiguously declared his opposition to the Iraq invasion months before it began, while running for the U.S. Senate. For all of his heralded Washington experience, McCain exercised very poor judgment by giving President Bush a blank check to invade Iraq. McCain didn’t even seem to understand the region, repeatedly arguing in the run-up to the war that U.S. troops would be greeted as “liberators.” In recent months, McCain’s befuddlement was painfully obvious when he repeatedly confused Iranian support for Shiite militias with Sunnis in Iraq.

3. Barack Obama is the ultimate bridge candidate. He definitely transcends political party labels and ideological camps. In both the Illinois state senate and the U.S. Senate, he has been receptive in working with members of both parties. I can tell you from attending the caucuses here in Iowa, that a wide variety of people support Barack, including many Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Young, middle aged, and older folks were among his supporters, as were men and women, and whites, blacks, and Hispanics. Put simply, he brings Americans together again. In contrast, McCain and Palin are constantly using divisive, highly partisan, language that questions the patriotism of their opponents. Such McCarthy-style tactics (i.e., “guilt through association”) are not only highly erroneous but also potentially dangerous to the foundation of our democracy.

4. Barack Obama is an agent of change. He is not a product of the Washington D.C. political establishment, unlike John McCain. He is an insurrectionary candidate that is leading a nationwide social movement against the corrupt status quo of Washington, D.C. Both parties have entrenched special interests that deeply fear the impending Obama Revolution. It is important to remember that McCain was a member of the Keating Five, which was one of the top financial scandals in modern American history. At the time of the scandal, the Senate as a whole admonished McCain for exercising “poor judgment.” Sarah Palin, too, appears to be highly corrupt and unethical, with her abuse of power in “Troopergate” as a notable example.

5. Unlike Bush and McCain, Barack Obama understands the importance of fiscal discipline. He has repeatedly criticized the budget-busting policies of the current Administration. Though McCain talks a lot about reigning in federal spending, he nonetheless favors extending the budget-busting Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. In contrast, Obama favors a return to the slightly higher tax rates that high-income earners faced in the 1990s. For over ninety percent of Americans and the vast majority of small businesses, Obama will offer tax cuts designed to stimulate the economy and thus generate additional revenue as well.

6. Obama has long supported accountability and transparency in government. As an Illinois State Senator, he helped pass the state's first major ethics reform bill in 25 years. And as a U.S. Senator, he has spearheaded the effort to clean up Washington in the wake of numerous scandals. For example, he co-sponsored a bill in 2006 with Oklahoma Republican Senator Tom Coburn to help curb pork barrel spending. The bill, which passed the Senate, established a searchable computer database of federal grants, loans, and "earmarks" or special spending advocated by individual members of Congress. As Obama said: "By helping to lift the veil of secrecy in Washington, this database will make us better legislators, reporters better journalists, and voters more active citizens." Obama also helped lead the U.S. Senate to pass the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act, a comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform bill, by a 96-2 vote that become law in September 2007.

7. Obama smartly chose a vice presidential running mate that is highly qualified and considered to be one of the leading experts on foreign policy in the U.S. Senate, Joe Biden. There is no doubt that Biden is ready and able to become vice president and even president. In contrast, McCain selected a completely unqualified political novice, Sarah Palin, to be his running mate. This woman barely graduated from college and seems to have an aversion to reading news magazines and newspapers. What’s worse, Palin is on the far right fringe of the Republican party and opposes a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape and incest. She and her husband have both been extremely chummy with Alaskan secessionists, John Birchers, and other nut cases on the far right. The fact that McCain is 72-years old and a three-time cancer survivor means that Palin could very likely become President if McCain wins. But with her total lack of foreign policy expertise, Palin won’t be anywhere near ready to enter the Oval Office for untold months, if ever.

8. Barack Obama has the right kind of experience that we need in a President. There are many ways in which to gain valuable life experience that would prepare one to become President. In contrast to the other major presidential candidates, Obama brings all kinds of new and novel experiences to the table. As a grassroots community organizer, civil rights attorney, and college professor of constitutional law, Obama gained invaluable experience. As a result, he truly understands social problems such as poverty, discrimination, homelessness, crime, etc. Moreover, he has a deep academic understanding of the U.S. Constitution and wants to restore that document's integrity, which has been seriously undermined by the Bush Administration. In contrast, McCain – who has spent decades in Washington – has become indebted to various special interest groups and has a campaign staff filled with former lobbyists.

9. Barack Obama is a strong family man who believes in inclusive family values (not to be confused with the more narrow theocratic version endorsed by McCain/Palin and their friends on the Religious Right). For example, Barack has specific pragmatic proposals designed to bring about universal health care and make college tuition more affordable, which will benefit families directly. Over the past several months here in Iowa, I have talked to many folks – including some fairly conservative supporters of Barack - who found his message of hope, national unity, and strong family ties to be uplifting and a pleasant change from many of the virtue-challenged politicians of both parties.

10. Barack Obama will end the war in Iraq and bring our troops home. He is opposed to the jingoistic neo-conservatism of Bush/McCain. He recognizes that we cannot solve the conflict in Iraq militarily. The current "surge" of U.S. troops may have reduced casualties to some extent, but the violence continues nonetheless. We still have U.S. troops dying or being maimed every few days in Iraq. Besides, the surge would never have been "necessary" if we had not gone to war in Iraq in the first place. That's the fallacy of John McCain's argument when he claims credit for advocating the surge. But McCain should instead be faulted for strongly supporting the invasion of Iraq to begin with. Indeed, McCain is more of a war hawk than even President Bush! At the same time, Obama recognizes that the U.S. must become even more engaged politically and diplomatically in Iraq in order to stabilize the region and safeguard our national security. Even Colin Powell has become convinced that Obama will be a much better commander-in-chief than McCain.

McCain's Religious Intolerance: Invoking "Judeo-Christian Values"

I don't think John McCain really understands that the United States was founded primarily on the ideals and principles of the Enlightenment, rather than simply "Judeo-Christian values.” Sure, such religious values played an indirect role in the founding of the country, but the fact remains that our founders were convinced that an official state religion should be avoided at all costs. Indeed, several of our founding fathers - including Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin - were actually deists rather than traditional Christians. More importantly, the First Amendment guarantees “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”

McCain, who graduated at the bottom of his class in the Naval Academy, probably doesn't even comprehend such important constitutional principles as the separation of church and state. His confusion was certainly evident at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church in California last week, when he declared: "Our Judeo-Christian principles dictate that we do what we can to help people who are oppressed throughout the world."

The main problem with such language is his use of the collective “our,” which implies strongly that American values are synonymous with Judeo-Christian values. Of course, this was not the first time that McCain has used such exclusionary language, effectively rejecting the contributions and values of Americans that do not practice either Judaism or Christianity. As The Boston Globe observed recently, McCain uses such language often and in a variety of contexts. For instance, he recently praised small-town Americans by noting, "The Judeo-Christian values that they hold are the strength of America."

He has even used such language in reference to job training programs. Referring to laid-off workers this past February, he proclaimed, "We've got to educate and train these people. It is a Judeo-Christian values nation and it's an obligation we have and we are not doing it."

Even more disturbing, McCain appeared to embrace a religious test for President in comments he made last year in an interview with Beliefnet, hinting very strongly that non-Judeo-Christians need not apply. As he stated: "The number one issue people should make [in the] selection of the president of the United States is, 'Will this person carry on in the Judeo-Christian principled tradition that has made this nation the greatest experiment in the history of mankind?"



On a practical level, McCain’s theocratic comments have potentially serious repercussions not only for the civil liberties of Americans, but also for U.S. foreign policy and international relations. For example, in justifying the U.S.-led “preemptive” invasion of Iraq, McCain said the following in 2006:

"This just wasn't the elimination of a threat to Iraq - this was elimination of a threat to the West, part of this titanic struggle we are in between western Judeo-Christian values and principles and Islamic extremists."

He made similar comments earlier this year about Iran at a town hall meeting in New Hampshire. In reacting to a new intelligence report that had downplayed the threat of Iran's nuclear program, McCain quickly listed other reasons to be distrustful of the Iranians. As he stated: "And they sure don't share our Judeo-Christian values."

It’s really disturbing that McCain is identifying non-Judeo-Christian countries (with predominately Muslim populations) as problematic for the U.S, simply because of reputed differences in religious values. In effect, McCain is framing such countries as part of an ostensible “clash of religions,” as was noted in the Boston Globe article. Much to the chagrin of the Muslim world, McCain constantly conflates Islam in general with the war on terror. He has implicitly referred to Islam as an “alien” faith that is deemed to be threatening to the “Judeo-Christian” world.

Last week, as Christianity Today noted, McCain argued in favor of supporting Georgia in its conflict with Russia by noting twice approvingly that “Georgia is a Christian nation.” McCain seemed to be praising Georgia for adopting Christianity as its official religion, implying that predominately Muslim nations and breakaway provinces in the region - such as Chechnya and Azerbaijan – are not as deserving of U.S. support.

McCain's theocratic rhetoric is just one more reason why I am convinced that he is a very dangerous man who would likely start a war with Iran or other predominately Muslim countries for foolish, irrational reasons. Based on such imprudent and ignorant comments, McCain is not intellectually fit to be commander in chief.

John McCain's Computer Illiteracy

With Barack Obama, we likely have the most technologically-savvy candidate for President in the history of the country. He's revolutionized campaigning and fundraising with his web-based system. Google CEO Eric Schmidt and numerous other leaders in the technology sector have endorsed him. He has own iPod playlist. More importantly, Obama has an innovative series of policy proposals on technology issues. In contrast, John McCain is technologically illiterate. Significantly, his campaign's web page barely even mentions technology policy.



By his own admission, John McCain is completely dependent on his wife for e-mail correspondence and other forms of computer-mediated communication. He doesn’t even own a computer, as he admits when questioned in the following video:



Why is it important that McCain lacks any basic knowledge when it comes to information technology? With countless thousands of business transactions taking place every second on the web, McCain’s technological illiteracy could have potentially serious repercussions for decisions concerning economic and technology policies if he somehow becomes President (heaven forbid). With the constant threat of technological terrorism, it’s also a matter of national security. McCain’s cyberspace ignorance and apparent technophobia is not only embarrassing, it’s inexcusable for anyone working in government not to know how to use the Internet. Do we really need a modern-day Luddite in the Oval Office?

In fact, as the following video observes, what happens at 3 a.m. in the White House if President McCain is awakened from his slumber and told that he needs to read a vital e-mail message?