Why I Voted For Obama Today

Hello everyone,

I've been meaning to explain why I'm voting for Obama, since I know you're all puzzled. First let me say that after taking numerous online candidate quizes, I only match up with Obama on average of 45%. That's less than half. I don't completely agree with him.

My purpose isn't to persuade, rather simply to explain my point of view while respecting your point of view. Therefore, there won't be anything here about any other candidate, only the one I am initially supporting. Notice I said initially. We all hope the candidates we vote for will do a good job. But that isn't always the case, at which time we are prompted to withdraw our support. Allow me to illustrate:

In 2004, I voted for George Bush. The only issue important to me at that time was gay marriage and abortion. So I was voting strictly on moral grounds without any regard to other issues, like the economy and education.

Then I stopped listening to my exclusive sources of information at the time: Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. All of a sudden a broad wealth of unbiased information became apparent to me and I realized how radical these guys were. To make a long story short, I don't listen, read, or watch any conservative or liberal media any more. Brain damage as far as I'm concerned. I do my own research without graciously allowing these types of narrow perspectives and special interest commentary to greatly influence my opinions. All opinions are biased, however. Even mine. That's what makes it an opinion. I'm not a fan of Glenn Beck either.

Now, I'm not saying that moral issues are not important for me. They are very important. At the time I voted for Bush, I thought that if he became president, the gay marriage agenda would be frustrated and Roe v Wade would be overturned, piece of cake. I guess that shows how naive Limbaugh and Hannity listeners are.

Turns out that gay marriage has only increased in popularity and in legal status beyond just Massachusetts to include Connecticut and California. Any attempt to turn Roe v Wade was shot down, though anti-abortion legislation did see some success, though it was limited to prohibiting a type of procedure, not abortion itself.

So these issues are important to me because of my religious beliefs. However, as we can see over the past eight years, a president's personal position on gay marriage and abortion has little real persuasive power over how these issues play out in our everyday lives (a great case-in-point is Gov. Mitt Romney in 2004 allowing the first gay marriage licenses to be given in MA). I believe that these issues will be decided on the state level, not the federal level. That leads me to the discussion points concerning Obama, his stance on issues, and me:

Abortion:

Yes, Obama supports Roe v Wade. I do not. Here is where we differ. However, I am not voting this year on the issue of abortion. If the issue appeared on the Idaho ballot as an initiative of some kind, I would consider voting on it. However, even the Church doesn't support legislation for or against abortion. The Church's position is the following quoted from LDS Newsroom:

"The Church allows for possible exceptions for its members when:
• Pregnancy results from rape or incest, or
• A competent physician determines that the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy, or
• A competent physician determines that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth.

The Church has not favored or opposed legislative proposals or public demonstrations concerning abortion."

The Supreme Court is the only institution that can turn Roe v Wade but citizens in individual states can decide otherwise. Even if Roe v Wade were to be turned over, abortion would still be legal in several states. This is clearly a state issue, not a national issue, and therefore isn't a consideration for me in choosing a presidential candidate.

Homosexual Marriage:

Obama does NOT support it (neither is it part of the official Democratic Party platform). He believes marriage is between a man and a woman. He has said however, that he would repeal the 1996 Defence of Marriage Act. Nevertheless, as we have seen and are currently seeing, that act hasn't done much to prevent certain states from doing their own thing anyway. Again, this will turn out to be a state-by-state issue and be decided by the people, regardless of who the President is.

Foreign Policy

This is one of the main reasons I voted for him. Unlike issues like abortion, education, etc, every-day foreign policy is largely determined by the executive branch. While the public can vote on marriage, it cannot do so on a nuclear deal with India, for example. Because the executive branch has such exclusive influence over foreign policy, I have decided to make that one of my top voting issues.

I don't agree with the nation's current policy of unilateralism. We need to stop bullying the world around and start working with them diplomatically. We need to form new partnerships with our allies. The world's nations are too interdependent to continue to deny this simple fact: A multilateral foreign policy, with a strong tendency towards diplomacy and respect for international laws and treaties is a foreign policy crafted for success.

We don't live in the days of the Cold War anymore. The world is much more complex and national security must be approached from a different perspective than the old Republican policy, which seems to view everything as being black or white. Obama doesn't have this type of experience. That's what I like about him. He has a temperament and steadiness about him that I think will serve our national security needs well.

Speaking of experience, I think his incredible insight and sound judgement concerning issues of foreign policy speak for themselves. He has greatly influenced the current foreign policy debate in America. Back in 2006, he was the first to call for a time table to withdraw troops from Iraq. This was considered naive at the time. What do we have now? The Bush Administration and the Iraqi government are both working on a time table to withdraw troops. Obama was one of the first to suggest that we had lost our focus on the war on terror by neglecting Afghanistan. He called for a new strategy. Now everyone else is saying this same thing.

Torture and Gitmo are wrong and our nation will someday pay the price. I hope certain individuals in the Bush Administration are brought before an international tribunal to answer for their war crimes. I know McCain is against torture and Gitmo, but I'm not worried about him, I'm worried about the republicans that will surround him and his VP with regard to these issues.

I don't support the Bush Doctrine, which is the use of preemptive strikes. I don't think we have a right to it and Obama doesn't support it.

I appreciate Obama's world view, his willingness to meet with the leaders of "rogue nations". We shouldn't be afraid to talk with those with whom we disagree, even though they may hate us. This is a key and very wise diplomatic tool. This is true even in the most basic unit of society, the family.

Economy, Other

Spread the wealth. OK, I admit, that doesn't sound like a great idea. Why should I give my hard-earned dollar to someone who will just take it for granted? Oh no! Socialism!

Ya know, I really don't think he'll get too far with that. It might get him elected, but he'll be brought to the great table of compromise that is at the center of policymaking. I acknowledge that his voting record as a senator is very liberal, but this country is a center-right country. Democrats aren't about "everything liberal". I trust he will run the country according to compromises. That's what it means to run a government, at least in this country. I think Obama will become more moderate due to the pressures of his own party.

Regarding this, some would argue that if Obama is President, one-party rule would be ineffective and inefficient. However, any political junkie (which I am not) could list historic examples of when a one-party rule actually made progress. Abraham Lincoln's and Teddy Roosevelt's governments are good examples.

As I am going into the public teaching profession, I have paid attention to his education policies. He has more caring and comprehensive educational reform ideas than any other candidate. I do not support the No Child Left Behind program. Neither does Obama.

Finally, I think Obama reflects the growing social diversity that makes up modern America. He has the ability to reach across races, cultures, ideas, and remain steady among all that variety. He represents the fact that we really have made striking progress in accepting different people. Him being president will generate a more productive dialoge concerning issues that face us all.

I hope all this was understandable. The great thing about this country is the ability we all have to form our own opinions and develop our own perspectives on political and social issues, be vocal with them, and try to make a positive difference in ways we hope will benefit humanity.