One voter’s reasons for voting for Barack Obama
If you have been reading my blog for very long, you will know that I have only allowed one other guest blogger before now. It’s just something I do not do. After getting to know Linda through Pigeon and Pet Chat and discussing some of her thoughts and reasons behind her vote for Barack Obama, I thought it would be good to hear from someone who voted for Obama and could state their reasons for doing so with clarity. Without further ado, here is Linda’s take on this election.
That’s my take!
Larry
Larry and I have gotten to know each other through a little forum we both belong to: Pigeon and Pet Chat. Ordinarily, at forums such as these, political discussions are taboo, as they can lead to a lot of dissension among the members. But, with the interest and excitement generated by the US Presidential election, the Canadian owner of the forum allowed us one thread to discuss politics. Although some of us had differing opinions, we all enjoyed some lively, respectful discussions. After I had weighed in with my opinions on the election and candidates and some of the reasons I had for voting for Barack Obama, Larry surprised me by asking me to write a little something along those lines for him to post at his blog.
Although I have voted Democrat for this election, I am a big fan of Larry’s blog. I like his reasonable take on the candidates and the issues. I trusted Larry to lay out the facts as he knew them and some of the fears that Republicans had about Obama in a fair and balanced manner, as opposed to some of the absurd rantings that were out there. Also, this was either candidate’s election…..if John McCain had won the presidency, I wanted to know about him and his ideas for our country. I knew that I would get straight talk here on My Take.
I think a little background on myself might be helpful. I am a 49 year old married Caucasian woman with one 20 year old son, who lives in what most would consider a small town. I have an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and I work full time as a Teacher’s Assistant with Special Ed. children in my local elementary school. My son is a full time student in his third year of college, which we pay for without student loans. Our yearly family income would be in the $85,000 range approximately.
I personally consider myself an Independent. I have always voted for the person I think is best for the job, regardless of party. Although I would not characterize myself as a Liberal, I do lean toward Liberal tendencies. I guess I would label myself as Moderate. I was first eligible to vote in a Presidential election in 1980 and I voted proudly for Ronald Reagan and I don’t think you can get more Republican than that. I felt that he would be a strong leader and that was what was needed at that time.
I also proudly did not vote for George W. Bush in 2000 or 2004. I did not feel he was up to the job and sadly, I was proven right. I understood his appeal to the American people, but I don’t need someone running my country that I would feel comfortable with having a beer at a barbecue. I can do that with my neighbor. Not to open a can of worms, but I’m still not sure he really won in 2000….that outcome and the stuff that came after was pretty shady. But, there’s no question in my mind, that the American people voted that man in legitimately in 2004, even after all the lies that were told in order to start the war with Iraq. The American people who voted him in again in 2004 absolutely deserve what has come to pass, because they asked for it and they got it. Unfortunately, those of us who realized what was going on, had to go down with everyone else.
This latest election was a tough one….you had two good men running. I have the utmost respect for John McCain as a person. He is a true war hero, he went through hell for his country and I feel he is very honorable and has a lot of integrity. I think he would have had a good chance of winning despite the fact that he is a Republican in a time when people were fed up with a Republican majority and what has come to pass in the last 8 years. If only he would have presented himself honestly and presented himself as himself and not what his handlers thought people would respond to. I think his campaign managers ruined his chances. They ran a campaign of fear and divisiveness…US versus THEM. And they did everything they possibly could to demonize Barack Obama. A lot of uninformed people fell for these tactics. But, reasonable people knew better and were disgusted by it. Now, of all times, is not a time for the American people to be divided. If we want to be great again, if we want to be proud again, we all need to come TOGETHER for a common purpose. And, that means including everyone who lives here, like it or not.
Another thing that sunk McCain was his choice of running mate. Gov.Sarah Palin is a woman who has accomplished much and seems like a good person basically. Attractive, accomplished and down to earth…..but ready to step in as President should something happen to John McCain? Not in a million years. I’m sorry, but I feel her choice as running mate was a gimmick to breathe life and publicity into the Republican campaign and that’s all it was. She was in no way whatsoever ready for the job. I do not believe that someone running for the Vice Presidency should be learning about the position while on the job. And with McCain at 72 yrs of age and after 4 bouts with cancer–it could have been a real possibility that Palin would have had to step in. I would not have minded John McCain winning the election, except for Palin. The thought of her as my President generated real fear and actually made my blood run cold. With a more qualified running mate, I feel McCain’s chances would have been much greater.
I have to admit that I did not pay too much attention in the Republican primary. I knew and liked John McCain and hoped he would win the primary. Even though I have declared myself here as an Independent, I am a registered Democrat, mainly because of a previous primary election in my small town. I did vote in the latest primary and my vote went to Obama. I was very inspired by him at the time, and whether it is a good reason or not, I was tired of the fact that for the last 30 years or so that there was a Bush (Daddy or son) or Clinton (husband or wife) in the White House. Call me silly, but to me it just smacked of nepotism. I felt it was time for a change. And also, I think we would have looked like fools to the world had we chosen a another President from these two families. Our world reputation has taken quite a beating (and deservedly so!)……time to prove to the world that we are better and smarter than they have thought (and who can blame them for thinking that, with our choices the last few years).
I’ve expressed my regret to Larry that I did not pay much attention to Mike Huckabee at the time of the Republican primary, mainly b/c I would have voted for Satan himself if he was not a Republican after the last 8 years (by the way folks, that was a joke!). I have nothing against the Republican party. As I’ve said, I’ve voted Republican when I felt their candidate was best for our country. And I was pulling for John McCain during the Republican primaries mainly because I think he would have made a good President as well.
I feel a lot of the fears about Obama are unfounded. I think change is very scary for many people and he represents seismic change and not just in our country’s policies. Let’s be honest here and admit that it is threatening to a lot of people that he is a black man (or bi-racial). In this day and age, we are supposed to be past that, but of course, many people are not that evolved. In the days since the election, I’ve heard many white people say that Obama won because of the huge turnout of black voters, who voted for Obama, solely because he is black. I just don’t buy that. I’m sure that was part of it, but mainly it was because they felt Obama was up to the job. No disrespect intended, but if it was Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton running, they would not have gotten the numbers that Obama did. I don’t believe black voters would throw their vote away on a candidate that they didn’t feel could win, black or not. And let’s not forget that many white voters did not vote for Obama solely because he was black. .
In the beginning of this post, I gave you my background, and despite that, I have to say that Obama’s heritage never fazed me. He presents himself as someone who is very intelligent and articulate. I don’t see race when I look at him. I just see a smart man who seems to be dedicated in uniting the country and making it a better place. I don’t think he will pander to any race in particular or any class of people, except for maybe the middle class who make up the majority of this country and who seem to have been overlooked for a very long time….the people who make up the backbone of America. For the first time in a very long time, I feel very proud of my country and very hopeful for the future.
I have a lot of hope and faith that Obama will do a good job. Because of the fact that his election is so monumental historically, I think he will be extra careful to do right by our country and the American people. Do I think that he will be able to solve all our problems overnight? Of course not. We will have to see what he does and how he performs during his term. If he is not up to everyone’s expectations, then in four short years, we can always elect someone new with new ideas. But, in the meantime, I”m with Larry…..we all need to give him a chance. I’m very hopeful that through his leadership that we will all be able to come together and work toward common goals that will benefit everyone here in our country.
Linda
