Why do you like Obama?

[AuntyEthel]

It just seems to me as a non-American that it wouldn't matter who is in charge of the Democrats or Republicans. The majority stick to their vote through their whole lives, basically in favour of right-wing or left-wing.

 

[742]

reasons to vote for obama
1. mccain is the only alternative (he doesnt know how to use a computer, uses "i was a POW" as an excuse for EVERYTHING, im sorry being an admirals son, getting shot down a bunch of times and then getting captured is NOT a qualification as a military leader, or in fact ANY sort of leader, and considering the facts that hes a former nazi war criminal[you heard it here first folks, he ran a concentration camp] and worst of all, voted with bush like 90% of the time and doesnt even know how to use a computer! he shouldnt be let within a mile of the white house)
2. obama seems to be calm, not the type to panic. i think we might kinda need that right now.
3. obama seems like hes smart, and can honestly change his mind on an issue, flexible good.
4. sarah palin. BAT SHIT INSANE.(no offense meant to any guano that might be reading this)
5. good economic policies. i dont know anyone who makes over 250K, and IMO the strong have a duty to help the weak when its needed(and i would say that right about now it is, if you disagree then i would like to respectfully say that your a fucking idiot and should go kill yourself right now, twice or convince me that im wrong and lick my dorsal fin), whether that means the biggest kid around protecting the smaller kids from a schoolyard bully or the rich helping the homeless, its what should happen.
6. doesnt want to stay at war for another 100 years (possibly because he plans to be alive in 10 years) listening to the head of iraq on how to deal with iraq or "bomb bomb bomb iran" its not a hard choice.
7. genuinely charismatic, right now this country (and especially the stupid people in it) need someone to unite them and deliver a stirring speech, and i think obama can do that (granted, his unscripted self is not exactly awe inspiring, but it at least makes sense)
8. socialism is a popular thing to rip on, but when people are shitting themselves on the street diapers might be a good idea. and really, whats so fucking horrible about it?
9. for reasons involving time travel, ghengis khan and, an exceptionally powerful halucenagenic drug that has yet to be invented there is no reason number 9, no unicorns, and no universal cure for cancer, i sincerely apologize.
10. people in other countries seem to like him, that means when it comes to diplomacy or saying "...help?" hes already a step ahead.
11(or10.5). hes a good public face for america, and something other than an old white christian male.
12. his life story, thats like the american dream thing, in fact its a reason NOT to vote for him because its like... too perfect.
13. he actually wants to *gasp* TALK to people and MAKE COMPROMISES, things a good leader should avoid at all costs, i know. why the fuck did i include this one again? seriously though, your likely to catch far more flies with honey and an assault rifle than you are with a knife and an assault rifle. that wasnt related, im speaking literally(i suppose it would apply figuratively though in some zen sorta way).
14. foresight.
15. not hating america (not counting the existence of third party candidates or unicorns)
16. IIRC (which i may not) is not against abortion and gay marriage
17. he beleives in global warming, evolution, and gravity
18. he may or may not be a cyborg mushroom sent from the future to destroy humanity

 

[Uncompetative]

It's not the only reason, but a rather important reason why I like Obama is simply that he's Democrat and not Republican.
Most people in Europe can't understand how it is possible that Republicans enjoy so much support in the US. Republicans are almost exclusively the political arm of coorporate america and almost everything they do comes down to milking the country for their buddies in the big business. Just look at the past 8 years of Bush administration. It's so painfully obvious that it hurts how half of americans can be so ignorant of their government. Think of the Bush family's connections with the oil industry and the record rise of oil prices. Or the Cheneys connections with the arms industry and the wars in the middle east and the Halliburton case.

Most republicans simply don't serve their country. They serve themselves and their big bucks buddies in the industry. Almost everyone in every country around the world knows this, except in the US. The only explanation I have for this is that many major news networks in the US, such as Fox News, are republican-controlled and only report in their "fair-and-balanced" stile, such as the balance between Britney Spears boobs. I guess that helps in keeping people ignorant.

Excellent post. Could you maybe say what you like about Obama and/or his policies?

As an Englishman I could only suggest that Americans liked his youth, vigor, style, charisma and oratorical skills.

Personally, I'm disappointed Hilary Clinton isn't a candidate (I think things are so bad with Iraq, Afganistan, Health Care, and the Economy) that the US (and the World) needs the benefit of 3 Presidents, not 1 (and not someone who has not been in the White House already). In case you are wondering, the 3 Presidents you would effectively get are:

Hilary Clinton - former First Lady, standing as an Independent
Bill Clinton - former President, as her husband and confidant
Al Gore - former Vice President as a close advisor

There is also the post of Vice President to consider and it may make sense to have someone from the US Green Party.

 

[PrISM]

Can you smelllllllll what Barack is cookin'?!

 

[aniki21]

If I was an American voter, I'd be voting for Obama because I agree with his positions on more things than any Republican.

But even if I had some major disagreements with Obama, at least he's got a cool head and enough sense to examine the situation and take advice before coming to a decision. In recent weeks, McCain has shown himself to be nothing short of reckless, cynical and frankly dangerous; I honestly believe that, with the best intentions in the world, McCain would cause irreparable damage to the United States both at home and abroad.

And that's not even touching on the disaster that's likely to happen if Palin was ever to get the Oval.

 

[ianuam]

He's least likely to shove Christianity down American's throats, he has a liberal voting record (in my book, that's a good thing). Less likely to invade another country and start world war three and just seems like a decent person, who's had experience of the lowest rung of the ladder.

Shame i can't vote 'cause i'm English.

 

[Uncompetative]

Personally, I'm disappointed Hilary Clinton isn't a candidate

Hillary Clinton hates computer games. That's enough reason for us not to want her as a candidate.

Personally, I'd be more worried about having a President who did. I wouldn't be surprised if George W. Bush liked Command & Conquer.

Could explain a lot.

 

[Bretty]

McCain knows when and how to use the military, Obama does not...

As a military family in the US I will be voting for McCain.

PS.... socialism failed. The only country still using it is China... and they now employ the free market in everything but politics.

Americans want everything and dont want to pay for it. Just look at your roads and bridges. Alabama refused to increase the sales tax for 3% so they had to release convicts from jail. And now you want Healthcare? How in the world are you going to pay for it?? The US has over a trillion in debt, social security is broken.

In the UK we payed a 17% tax on EVERYTHING. Thats how they have socialised medicine. You pay what 7% sales? Get a grip..

McCain all the way. Not to mention the south is worried about Obama being assisinated or something.

At the end of the day though America has more to worry about then just a president. You have a terrible "Yes Sir" media, your congress is easily lead (just look at the Iraq invasion) and the people seem to be 1 click above retarded. Do they even know how much socialised medicine costs? Do you think the doctors are going to stick around when they become gov't employees?

 

[AceDiamond]

Initially I liked Obama because he was something different. A (comparitively) young candidate of African-American background is pretty much the furthest we've had from the norm in a while. I also liked him because he seemed level-headed enough in discussion and regualr discourse.

Then when the dissent from the loyal opposition (or not I guess given what some of the supporters said to that cameraman...) started up, I began to start to just want him to win out of spite for the way some (not all) of the Republicans were acting.

Also McCain just seems like his time has passed. 4 or 8 years ago I think he would've stood a real chance, but now he's changed into a standard GOP-line-toeing supporter. It disheartens me because I really liked him and I almost considered voting for him before it became clear nothing was going to change.

Ultimately though the final thing added to why I like him is because he represents a Palin-free Executive branch. It's hard enough trying to figure out why anybody would think destroying a wildlife reserve for oil is an awesome idea, add that to her ideas and lack of experience (like, oh say, never being out of North America) you can practically see the car wreck that she'd bring to the White House.

I know some of Obama's goals and plans (like the tax relief plan) are lofty given the state of our economy, but the fact that he at least HAS the plan is good by me. And it just feels that he has the best interests of everyone at hand. I don't see why everyone says socialism is a bad thing. Perhaps some of them think it equals communism (which it does not) and perhaps others are worried they won't be so rich they can buy stupid shit they don't need. But I don't care about them, I care about everyone and I want everyone to be getting a fair shake unlike the last 8 years. And it's not like just because you're instituting socialist/other left wing policies it means it will be EXACTLY like every other country. After all our law enforcement, fire departments, public libraries, and post offices are socialized. And that seems to be working out just fine.

 

[Alex_P]

PS.... socialism failed. The only country still using it is China... and they now employ the free market in everything but politics.

At best, Obama's policies are "socialist" in the same way that Western Europe is "socialist." If you're gonna say that Western Europe doesn't qualify as "socialist," there's no point in using that label on Obama.

-- Alex

 

[Acervusvlos]

also, his platform is quite socialist regarding many topics.

As long as I live I will never understand the pathological American hatred of socialism.

Because we love freedom over equality.

There's no such thing as equality.

Your importance is equal to the work you put into your life, and the lives of those you wish.

I don't want my taxes going to someone who only has to call into the local wellfare office and say "HEY, I CALLED TWO FOLKS AND ASKED FOR A JOB. CAN I GET MY CHECK?"

Don't say "THAT'S RARE", because Wellfare is a flawed and corrupt system. It's the ultimate form of racism. It keeps minorities poor (As they make up the majority of the American "Lower Class")

I hate Socialism because it assumes that everyone is equal, and we aren't.
That's a dream of the founding fathers that will never come true.
All men are NOT created equal, but all men can BECOME equal by making themselves important through effort.

Amen to that brother!

If someone's got no job, it is obviously their own fault. If they were actually trying then I know damn well they'd be millionares. Simple as that.

And fuck healthcare while we're at it, you know who people have to blame for getting sick? Mmhmm, themselves, so bugger helping them out, if they wanted help they should have made themselves important, because the proper moral pursuit is only achievement of self happiness with man as the heroic being, compounded with rational self interest so screw the poor and-

...oh hang on a second, how the hell did we end up in an objectivist society?

Again, it's an opinion. You don't have to mock me for it.

 

[Serge Drago]

I suppose I'll be a black sheep, no pun intended, on this thread and tell you why I will not support Obama. To start the list is the fact that he is heavily influenced by Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto, but then again so is a majority of the liberal congressmen. For instance, Obama wants to raise taxes on people who make over $250,000/year, the people who fall into this category are the people that make jobs for others, aka the 'evil rich.' What we learned from the tax cuts on the rich during the Reagen and early Bush years was that when you cut taxes on the rich that new jobs become available in a trickle down effect of the money the rich are now being allowed to keep.

Second reason would be his ties to the former weather underground terrorist William Ayers. A few of his talking heads are still denying that the two have any connection at all. The ones that actually admit he and the terrorist are related defend that relationship by saying he, Barrack, was only eight at the time of the bombings. That is like saying it is okay to be friends with Adolf Hitler because he was killing millions of Jews when you were eight. It is one thing to be a friend of someone before he commits acts of domestic terrorism, it is quite another to be start being friends with someone who has had his actions documented and regrets not doing more.

Thirdly, I've heard a few people on the liberal news shows say that Obama would be a return to what the founders of the country wanted for it. Never mind that the founders had slaves; that's a can of worms I don't feel like opening yet. Back to the rant, reading the US Constitution and US Bill of Rights lead me to believe that the Founding Fathers wanted a more locally run government, meaning that you answered to the state long before you were brought to D.C. The only exception to this was during times of war, as right they should be, but in the past 100 years the role of government has become more intrusive in our lives, so much so that they can legally look in your bank account without your knowledge or permission. Obama wants to make the government even more centralized with things like the 'right to a job, the right to health care, the right to a brand new Porsche,' you get the idea. The Founding Fathers recognized that the only rights anyone was allowed to have were ones that didn't tread on another persons time or money. I.E. The rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. No where in the original US Constitution or US Bill of Rights does it say you have the right to another person's money or property. There is also no such thing as the right to vote in a federal election with the only exception being the House of Representatives. The Senate vote was changed from the State legislators to the people of the state, thus making Canada represented in DC but not the state of New York, the people of New York but not the state.

Fourth and Fifth, Obama can't talk without prepared questions or a teleprompter. When Obama was 'ambushed' with the question 'knowing what you know now, would you still vote against the surge,' he stammered an answer out saying, through all the uhs, basically 'no, because I hate Bush.' He may have great charisma but that's pretty much it. To lengthen this paragraph I'll through in his disdain for the military. Obama, like most if not all of his liberal colleagues, doesn't like the military unless they are doing something they shouldn't, then its finger pointing time. Obama's gems of statements on the military include 'bombing villages and killing civilians.' Putting this man in charge of the military would be like putting a chocoholic in charge of an addiction rehabilitation clinic, irresponsible.

Reason Six: These people

Can you smelllllllll what Barack is cookin'?!

Lastly, cause I know you're about to send me the pms calling me a racist, is the race card defense everyone pulls for him. Calling him skinny is racist, discussing his past as a community organizer for ACORN is racist, challenging any policy of his you don't agree with is racist. You'd think that after a year and a half the American people would be sick and tired of this crap, but your average citizen gets their news from E! Tonight and other celebrity worshiping programs.

And for those of you who will call me a racist: Racism is the belief that one race is genetically superior to all other races. I.E. The Nazis and their Aryan race. Bringing up facts about a single person is not racist.

 

[Alex_P]

Second reason would be his ties to the former weather underground terrorist William Ayers. A few of his talking heads are still denying that the two have any connection at all. The ones that actually admit he and the terrorist are related defend that relationship by saying he, Barrack, was only eight at the time of the bombings. That is like saying it is okay to be friends with Adolf Hitler because he was killing millions of Jews when you were eight. It is one thing to be a friend of someone before he commits acts of domestic terrorism, it is quite another to be start being friends with someone who has had his actions documented and regrets not doing more.

Check [http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ayers.asp] your facts [http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/he_lied_about_bill_ayers.html].

-- Alex

 

[Serge Drago]

[/quote]Check [http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/ayers.asp] your facts [http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/he_lied_about_bill_ayers.html].

-- Alex[/quote]

I'm not saying Obama has an ongoing relationship with the terrorist. I'm saying that Obama had no problem relying on him when it was convenient for himself. This slight connection doesn't excuse the fact the Obama surrounds himself with Anti-American individuals. Rev Wright would be a good secondary example with his comments like 'God damn America.' This sort of talk doesn't just happen out of the blue and siting in a pew for twenty years and not raising an eyebrow until convenient says a lot about Obama. And let's not forget his seemingly best friend Raila Odinga.

 

[neoman10]

McCain knows when and how to use the military, Obama does not...

As a military family in the US I will be voting for McCain.

So is mine but I am going for Obama

But my views on the republican party is that they try to make the rich richer and the poor poorer

P.S. It may be off topic but i need to say this, Browns beat the Giants! Take the Yorkies! (New York, not York BTW)

 

[Doggabone]

There's no such thing as equality...

There are and have been wise and intelligent people who think that there should be. Presumably, because equality is a good thing. Maybe there isn't such a thing - does that automatically mean that there shouldn't be? Or does it mean that it will take change and effort to include equality with our freedoms and privileges?

...all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness - That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men...

I'll split this hair, because it's important. We are all equal, even when that is not acknowledged. That doesn't mean that we all demonstrate the same merits or that we've earned the same privileges. Some of us aren't work the fscking air we breathe. There are abuses of the social safety nets, of course. There are also abuses of the wealth systems too - embezzlement, theft, and fraud. But that's not enough to throw out capitalism and the free market, any more than it's a reason to knock out the supports either. All I'm emphasizing is that a little equality goes a long way - none of us in the "free" world work completely on our own, no matter what we think.

Or are you unaware that the social safety net includes funding that supports the kind of college education that you - and I - paid for by working our asses off? We didn't pay the whole cost. We paid enough of the cost to make up what the tax system and other funding didn't cover. I hope you enjoy your life of privilege as much as I enjoy mine.

Every day, thousands of people in your country and mine turn their lives(or their corporations) around with a little outside help. From their government and us, the citizens and taxpayers, or friends, or family. For just one moment, let's allow that some will abuse the privilege and never get off of our fscking couch until we have the living room moved out from underneath them, and let's ignore them for that moment. Thousands more take a few years in social housing, or welfare, or a government backed business loan and build or rebuild.

If I never need another nickel from the government, if I never need welfare or social support, I still need there to be a social support system. Because my privileges disappear when all those thousands are unable to catch the moment's respite they need to again become productive, contributing members of my society.

The Great Depression [http://www65.statcan.gc.ca/acyb01/acyb01_0005-eng.htm] was ushered in by the stock market crash of October 29, 1929. It ended as dramatically a decade later on September 3, 1939, when the Second World War began. The widespread poverty and suffering during the 1930s - the result of unemployment, drought and lack of a social safety net - transformed social welfare in Canada.

Until the 1930s, mainly private charities dealt with unemployment and poverty. However, charity work was usually organized to meet temporary or seasonal crises, such as poor harvests or fires. This approach could not cope with an economic crisis the length and intensity of the Great Depression.

Close-ish to where we seem to be today - but we've got a little bit more social security protecting us from harm. It won't be this bad. For some of us, however, it will be this bad, and a lot of those will slip through the cracks no matter how much we feel that the sweat of a person's brow is enough to see him or her overcome difficulties. Some of that failure of the security net will be that the system will be abused.

It's not the role of government to give us all equal lives. But at the least, they should be safegaurding our opportunity to build our own lives. A good house is built under a solid roof and atop a strong foundation. You need both. Which most of us would probably agree on, where we all differ from each other, generally, is the how. Which is why there are elections - another privilege of our equality.

 

[Godheval]

Finally, he has had very close relationships with known terrorists, and his father has been revealed to be close friends with the man leading the current Kenyan genocide, and his citizenship is being challenged...by a democrat...all because he won't produce his birth certificate or health records...

So someone please tell me, what about this man is appealing to you? Why is he fit to lead this country? Why are we not judging this man by the content of his character, as even MLK called for?

It is fine that if you don't like the man, and fine if you won't vote for him. What is NOT fine, however, is if you make those decisions based on misinformation.

1. On his citizenship - He HAS released his birth certificate. It has been presented on his own website, and through a TON of media outlets. This issue is not even up for discussion anymore.

2. Obama, Sr. and Raila Odinga - Obama's father has been revealed to be close friends with the guy behind the current Kenyan genocide? What Kenyan genocide are you talking about? Are you confusing Kenya with Rwanda or Sudan? There is in-fighting amongst Kenyan politicians and their supporters, which has resulted in a number of deaths, but it is not a genocide. Secondly, Obama's father is DEAD, and has been since 1982. Barack barely knew him. Heck, he probably knows Bill Ayers better than his father. So trying to connect Barack to a non-existent genocide only shows your ignorance. Also, for the record, Obama, Sr. was a well-recognized and well-respected figure throughout Kenya, so there were many who would name him a friend or close associate.

3. On Bill Ayers - Like others have said, Ayers is well-connected within the education system of Illinois, where has done GOOD work. Have you bothered to look at what board Obama and Ayers were on together? An anti-poverty group. Hardly a terrorist organization. And NOT to defend Ayers actions of many years ago, but his meaning in saying he wished he had "done more" did NOT refer to more terrorist activity, but more for the "movement", which had some good ideology, just bad methods. He does not think NOW that more bombings were necessary.

If you're going to vote for or against a person, at least make sure you have the FACTS. If you want to truly be an educated and informed member of our citizenry, then read from a variety of sources - even those that seem to go against your preconceptions.

I am so tired of people spreading misinformation.

 

[neoman10]

I am so tired of people spreading misinformation.

THANK YOU