To Undecideds: I Don't Love Barack Obama, but I'm Voting For Him

RE-POSTED FROM MY FACEBOOK NOTE --

When it comes to undecideds, I think the worst people to try to change their minds are those that have binged on the Obama Kool-Aid. I hate to think of this election in terms of past elections, just voting for the guy I hate the least. The truth, though, is that Obama's idealism, while refreshing, isn't enough to make me ga-ga over him. On the other hand, I think the worst thing that could happen to this country right now is for John McCain to become president. If you are undecided, please take a moment to let me try to push you in Obama's direction.


1) Leadership Experience: They're both Senators, so neither of them have any. McCain has 20+ years more of basically irrelevant experience. Senatorial experience is sort of like executive experience, but in Congress you're always more like team captain than team owner.

2) Obama has a better bullshit story: Maybe I'm being overly cynical, but I think all campaigns are about selling a bullshit story. On the other hand, that bullshit story says a lot about a candidate. Obama's bullshit story says we can do better as a nation and he wants to inspire us all to do it. McCain's bullshit story is that he's going to reform Washington. Obama's goals just seem higher; McCain's don't seem worthy of the most powerful office in the world.

3) McCain 2008 is NOT McCain 2000: McCain 2000 was a maverick looking to change Washington. McCain 2008 has spent the last 5 years running to the right of his party in a transparent attempt to gain his party's favor because he wanted to run for president again. Check out John Kerry's speech at the Democratic Convention (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Nx9TG1i2A). Like many in Washington, Kerry loves Senator McCain, but he's wondering why that guy isn't running for president.

4) John McCain is a crappy politician: The McCain campaign is trying to repeat the Bush strategy of misleading statements (lies) and general misdirection. But when Karl Rove comes out and says you've gone too far with it, that means you're just a shitty campaigner. Maybe Obama's "hope" strategy is naive and it won't get him elected, but at least he has the ability to rally people behind his cause.

5) John McCain thinks you're stupid: More than that, McCain doesn't respect you. He thinks we should all stop whining about the economy. He think we're all wrong that the war in Iraq is unjust. Most of all, though, he thinks we're too stupid to see he's lying. He's not just lying about Obama's record, he's lying about his own. Palin was the worst decision of all because it, I think, it reveals that he thinks women are too stupid to see the difference between her and Hillary Clinton. Maybe Obama is an eletist, but he's a Clinton-type elitist in that he understands that our problems are important to us, therefore as our leader that's what he should be working to fix.

6) This country needs unity: Bush got elected by turning rich against poor, rural against "cosmopolitan." In response to Democrats' claims that Palin has less experience than Obama, she says that her little town just wasn't "cosmopolitan" enough. This is McCain's hand-picked successor playing on the same divisions Bush helped create. I'm not saying Obama will get elected and suddenly city and country folk will dance together in harmony, but McCain's not even going to try to heal the rift.

In conclusion, Obama probably won't accomplish everything he has promised, but at least he's making promises. McCain has become so cynical that he thinks it's a bad thing to be ambitious. Do we really want a guy in the White House that's more cynical than us? What have we done lately? I don't know about you, but all I've done is write a Facebook note.