I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from. I don't think we need talk crazy at each other to make our points.
I've been watching Obama closely for over three years now. My admiration has been earned over that time. Now, I know most people may have known him less then that, but if you asked most people if they knew who they voted for three, four, eight years in advanced, how many do you think would say yes? Most people learn the name of the Presidential candidates the year they're running and they make their judgments based on the judgment the candidate shows.
I have to agree with Obama on this: Words matter. What you say reveals how you think. How you think is evidence of your judgment and your intelligence. Do what the critics of Obama suggest and listen to his words. He makes sense. Something that not a lot of politicians have done in the past. It doesn't matter if you agree with his words or not, what matters is a lot of careful, wise and independent though went into them; he knows what he's talking about. That's the thing. If this guys words where empty, he would not have moved the people he did. He spoke to a part of the populations heart and it resonated with them. Empty words cannot do that.
And as I said, his past actions are service. No, he didn't serve in military like John McCain, but I'm not one who finds community service silly or less of a service. His entire life he's made choices that worked toward the betterment of the community, even if it meant some things he'd like to do would have to be put by the wayside. His record in the Senate shows a concern for whether the middle class where being taken care of, not the rich, not big corporations (I also happen to agree that the middle class are the engine of the economy.) And, again, campaigns are evidence of leadership ability. The ability to manage so many personalities and keep them on message speaks volumes more to me then if he worked with Republicans or not (which he has).
I don't have any reason to doubt the majority of these non-partisan groups until someone gives me reason to. They say things I don't agree with at times, but that doesn't lead me to doubt their varsity, especially if they're respected on the whole. Anything else is just a conspiracy theory, and that will lead you down the dangerous road of doubting everything, even when it is real. (Look at what happened to Mulder, but I digress.)
Now, I don't have a problem with McCain personally. But what I do know is that the
"voted with Bush 90% of the time" thing isn't just a party line or an out of context quote. McCain's plans for the country where very much in line with Bush's on the whole, with only a few variations in things like his tax plan and his views on spending. That concerned me.
Again, it was McCain's judgment that most people went by. I personally had a problem when he would very often contradict his statements from one day to the next. It just happened too often. I heard him say things about Sarah Palin like "I'm proud of her" or "She's energized our base", but never once did I hear him say "She will help me govern". Lots of little things worried me about McCain and they added up. And it's not whether I thought he was a good man or a partisan or a whether he was old or not. It was his ability to lead that I, and a good chunk of the country questioned.
As far as promoting less then admirable people goes. Let's face it, Obama can either pick the people who have pretty records or he can pick the people who can get the job done. What matters is who is in the top spot calling the shots. A good leader will not just pick the people with the spotless records. And a great leader will make sure he keeps them busy and out of trouble in the meantime.
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