As you probably already knew...

I am voting for Barack Obama.

I grant that when it comes to strict political papers there is just a marginal difference between Obama's and Clinton's positions overall.

Though I appreciate that Obama's health care plan believes that the only people forced to have health care are parents for their children. All the rest will have health care affordable enough so that the only people who aren't covered are those who don't want health care - not because they can't afford it....

Though I love the fact that Obama believes that direct diplomacy is the right diplomacy...

I believe that the final choice in this election is a matter of presidential philosophy and character.

I am really troubled at Clinton's attempts at trying to leverage delegates from Michigan and Florida.

I am troubled that Clinton felt threatened by Obama bringing up her working on the board of Wal-Mart for nearly a decade and decided to exaggerate Obama's relationship to Rezko.

I am troubled that Clinton never seems to have an honest, non-political answer to any question. I mean you could ask her what her favorite flavor of ice cream was and she would conduct a market research survey. Nevermind... back to topic.

And though I think she would be a better president than Bush could ever have hoped to be, she would not be my president any more than Bush would. Her world is politics. It is the air she breathes and the food she eats. She would be a skilled tactician, but I don't think that is what we need for our president. Not today.

Out president needs to be someone who will accept all of America, not alienate them. Someone who can claim the respect of all of America. Someone who is open to the opinions of those around him/her instead of "knowing" the way and only seeking input from those who agree. Someone who believes that the best policies are the ones that all sides can appreciate if not completely agree with.

I think that the strength of Bill Clinton (for all his faults) was that he always asked a lot of questions of those around him, gathering information about policy, finding all the facts, and gathering a base of support before moving forward. I don't feel that Hillary possesses these abilities. What I think that his wife shares, however, is his ambition, aloofness, arrogance, and a thrill for a fight. We have had too much of that and frankly, I just don't trust her to do what's best for this country.

Obama on the other hand, has Bill Clinton's abilities as described above and as made evident by the rally I went to on Saturday, inspires the best of the most diverse people in age, gender, and culture.


Emily and I were in line for two hours about a mile away from the rally and everyone around us (and blocks behind us) were in such grand spirits, I couldn't believe it. Never in my life has there been anyone who inspires so many, so well. Imagine that leadership in a president.

He also has a background to which so much of America (and possibly the world) can relate - his single mother had to raise him when his parents split and he worked his way up against odds stacked heavily against him. He and his mom traveled the world trying to find a place. He, like many confused kids, messed around in some nonsense, but after realizing it was holding him back, got out, pushed through, and more than redeemed himself for his bad decisions. He went to law school, was the first African American president of the Harvard Law Review, became a community organizer, and then became a professor of constitutional law before his time in the state congress. Imagine that experience in a president.

I think that the president for today should be a living breathing embodiment of what America is. Barack is. He's the child of a girl from the midwest and a guy from Kenya, the child of a single mother, the husband of a brilliant woman, the father of two young children, and statesmen of integrity. He is someone who was given little and made with it much. And though some people try to use it to hurt him, I am glad his name is Barack Hussein Obama, because it tells the world that we are not the country that we appear to be right now. We, together, are not bigots, not racists, not fear-mongers, not all southern white folk. We are a good people who rise despite adversity to make our world better. And I whole-heartedly believe that he can lead this country to make the right decisions and reclaim or respect and leadership in the world.

That is why I am voting for Barack Obama and I hope that you will, too.


Can we make something good happen in this country for once?

Roll the tape Will.i.am!



So go caucus! Here is a place for information (for Minnesota):

Minnesota Caucus Finder