WhosPlayin Endorses Barack Obama for President

After careful consideration, I have decided, along with MamaSk8z, to support the nomination of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. I have taken a long time to make up my mind, but the more I’ve read about and listened to Obama, the more comfortable I am with my choice. What I like about him is precisely what makes some of the far-left activists and pundits uncomfortable. It’s not so much that I dislike Hillary. Either of them – in fact, all three if you count John McCain. Any of them at this point would be a darn sight better than George W. Bush.

Although I’ll admit that Obama has an inspiring message and genuine, charming personality, these things are peripheral to what I see as the overriding themes:

1. Change comes from the people. It’s not about Obama, the man, but the desire of the people to affect change. Though it may not please all liberals on the far left, I think Obama’s writings show that he’s not afraid to call for personal responsibility as part of the solution. “Yes, We Can!”

2. His campaign is raising money from individuals rather than corporate PACs and lobbyists. Corporate influence in politics has truly been in my opinion the largest hindrance to progress in this nation.

3. A message based on hope for a positive future and progress for this country, as opposed to the fear-mongering and divisive, negative rhetoric of the other side. While the other side stumbles over itself trying to define what they’re against, and setting up straw-man effigies to verbally burn with fallacious arguments and shallow slogans that twist the English language, Barack Obama has stayed on the positive side, acknowledging graciously that even those with an opposite ideology are capable of being patriots.
More and more, as I get older, I hesitate to throw my limited bit of influence behind a person – preferring instead to champion ideas and philosophy. After all, I can control my philosophy. My ideas and philosophy can evolve and change over time to suit me. They never disappoint through corrupt acts or bad behavior. All that being said, when I cast my vote in March, it will not be for policy proposals. It will be for a person.

It is not now, nor has it ever been a requirement for my vote, that a candidate’s opinions mirror my own. Naturally, I would hope that they agree with me on most things. In this case though, we have two candidates on the Democratic side who agree with the majority of my opinions. Each is capable and qualified to hold the office.

What I want to see, and what I think is too often lacking in politicians, is honesty and candor, not just in what they say publicly, but in how they form and change their own beliefs. I don’t want someone who seems to hold a finger up to the breeze, and calculate the thing to say that is the most appealing to the most people. I want someone who is going to say tough things, even if they know some of their audience will balk. I want someone who is capable of working for consensus, which I say is a darn sight better than compromise or capitulation.

I want to see a leader who shows understanding of the complexity and multi-dimensional nature of modern problems in government. Too often politicians work too hard at trying to find unequivocal positions that can be expressed as a slogan. sound-bite, or pejorative.

Television pundits have tried to make the case that Obama is short on substance and long on the flowery rhetoric of hope. Indeed, if one’s only knowledge of Obama came from the inbred punditsphere of cable and network news, it would be easy to think that. Obama does have a vision for progressive policies. His book, "The Audacity of Hope" gives some insight into that. His issues pages on his website, www.barackobama.com gives much more detail. Even more than the letter of his policy positions, the overriding vision excites me about where America could be 4 to 8 years from now, and as my children grow up. After four years of having a president whose only visions were of dollar signs and fulfillment of apocalyptic end-times prophecy, it is refreshing to see someone who plans for a bright future.

Perhaps it is the odd blend of naivety and cynicism that characterizes my generation, but nothing motivates me more in my personal and professional life than to be presented with a challenge that is thought unworkable – a problem thought to have no solution. There is, and has been great pessimism on the part of the citizenry of our country towards their government in Washington. With 70% of Americans negative toward our federal government, Washington-bashing has certainly been in vogue. However, even as we are discouraged and pessimistic at the state of our government, Obama’s message of hope and optimism about the future of our nation have energized hundreds of thousands of young people who now think that maybe – just maybe – if they push hard enough to go to Washington and get their business in order. Conventional wisdom says "You’ll never do it." But witness the popularity of Obama’s message: “Yes, We Can.”

For all of these reasons, I think Barack Obama is the right leader for our times. We enthusiastically lend our support to the campaign of Barack Obama. If you are undecided in this race, or unhappy with your choices on the other side, we strongly urge you to go to the campaign website and read more about Barack Obama.

Regardless of the outcome of this presidential election, it is my fondest hope that after all is said and done, we unite not only as a party, but as a nation of brothers and sisters all desiring the same final outcome: a safe, happy, and prosperous country in which we can live, let live, love, be loved, raise children, care for our older generations, work, play, relax and enjoy. We desire to preserve faith, liberty, truth, and justice. We strive for abundance and opportunity, innovation and perfection, inspiration and providence, carefulness and courage, diligence and vigilance. These are not Democratic or Republican values or traits. These are not even uniquely American values. These are human values firmly rooted in our collective faith and endowed by our creator as much as the inalienable rights that our founding fathers saw fit to preserve and protect.

See you at the polls.