Ignore All the Bad Reasons Not to Vote Obama
4 02 2008In today’s Washington Post, Pulitzer Prize winning author Michael Chabon beautifully articulates all the “bad reasons” not to vote for Barack Obama and urges citizens to rise above this “phobia” so perhaps we might one day be able to look at ourselves in the mirror once again.
Here’s the money quote…
To support Obama, we must permit ourselves to feel hope, to acknowledge the possibility that we can aspire as a nation to be more than merely secure or predominant. We must allow ourselves to believe in Obama, not blindly or unquestioningly as we might believe in some demagogue or figurehead but as we believe in the comfort we take in our families, in the pleasure of good company, in the blessings of peace and liberty, in any thing that requires us to put our trust in the best part of ourselves and others. That kind of belief is a revolutionary act. It holds the power, in time, to overturn and repair all the damage that our fear has driven us to inflict on ourselves and the world.
And when we all wake up on Nov. 5, 2008, to find that we have made Barack Obama the president of the United States, the world is already going to feel, to all of us, a little different, a little truer to its, and our, better nature. It is part of the world’s nature and of our own to break, ruin and destroy; but it is also our nature and the world’s to find ways to mend what has been broken. We can do that. Come on. Don’t be afraid.
If you’re having doubts or if the only reason you aren’t considering Obama is because of “rumors” you’ve heard, I urge you to read this essay.
It’s the best thing Chabon has written since The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay.
And its a great message to take into tomorrow’s primary.
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I enjoyed the essay - thanks for posting it. I am torn about how to vote in tomorrow’s primary, myself. I lean toward Obama for some of the reasons Chabon describes. Also, honestly, because I have *never* voted in a presidential election without a Clinton or a Bush - and this will be my seventh presidential election. But Clinton has more fully developed policies on health care, climate change and the foreclosure crisis. She ripped at least two of those off from Edwards, but still.
To me, the bright lining this entire primary season is the presence on Super Tuesday of two strong candidates in the Democratic primary. I can’t remember the last time that happened.
I’m a big fan of Chabon and may well be voting for Obama tomorrow (I’m having some last minute indecision for all of the reasons mentioned by lady clay), but I thought it was a horrible, horrible essay. Almost as bad as Erica Jong’s piece in favour of Clinton. He managed to write a pro-Obama piece without really mentioning any policies. Which sort of points to the whole problem with Obama.
As stated above, this is the article to read if you’re questioning your vote for Obama based on poisonous rumors that have been circulating.
If you’re still on the fence between Hillary and Obama over issues of policy, then this article is obviously not the place to find it. If you went into it thinking that, then you were sorely disappointed. I would suggest checking out this link http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/issues/ if you’re still struggling over policy.
This article is more about the damage our own paranoia has done to our nation post 9/11, and how that’s been manifested into reasons not to vote Obama, than about the man’s policies and credentials.
To me, the policy differences between Obama and Clinton are minimal. Minimal enough that when any of them encounter the bureaucracy of Washington, it will become more about their ability to lead and guide policy than about what they proposed back on the campaign trail. That’s part of the reason I’m for Obama. I believe he can get a larger contingent of both politicians and voters behind him once he’s in Washington to get many of his policies to his desk. Hillary is divisive in the public eye and a compromiser behind closed doors. She’s a great Senator for NY…I just don’t think the those two attributes make a strong President.
I voted for Obama today and it gave me chills. I felt it was truly a historical act - voting for an African American who really has a chance to win. Also, voting for Hillary is the first time we’ve had a chance to vote for a woman. I do really like Hillary’s platform and her experience, but I voted for Obama because I feel he has the best shot to win in November. That’s what really matters. Plus, if you’re opposed to the Iraq war (and any future wars with Iran, etc.), Hillary has been too cozy with the Republicans and is not the better option.