can you with out hostility tell me why I should vote for BO and Not Clinton

maybe I can see your point. Why is he the the best for our Country? Please help me see the difference. I have never in my life voted against a Demo cat, I don't want to now. Help me to fall for BO>

Do you need a better reason?

But that's not really what some people are asking with these kinds of questions in this forum, is it?

What they are really asking is for validation.

This isn't exactly the OP's or your first exposure to the candidate, so expecting us to perform some kind of conversion on you is illogical.

You may come to like Obama in time, but that will be more of your and Obama's doing than anything else. Right now, it's just an exercise in futility, therefore, the best possible reason I can give you is that he is the nominee of our party.

That's part of what being a political party is, realizing that at times the consensus of the party is not necessarily the same as your personal preferences. That's what good democracy is about: accepting when you are overruled by your allies.

he understands the Constitution and the importance of rule of law and civil liberties...

oh, and he's a Democrat.

Here's some more reasons:

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Roe v Wade

Only reason why this year I am a yellow dog

even if the party runs a yellow dog.

:-)

Or do you still have a primary coming up?

We are looking to unseat a long term (R) in the house with a relatively unknown Dem challenger.

I think Senator Obama has the coattails to get the colleges in the district out to vote in November.

Thanks for asking opinions. There is my reason.

1. Supreme Court
2. 100 years in Iraq
3. McSame has no clue what to do about the Economy and thinks things are going swimmingly well


ETA: I've been told we have really good kool-aid and lattes. With summer coming, we're trading up for icepops & frappacino's. Everyone loves those.

Isn't that the damn truth.

Scary.

Also, you have to factor in the the down-ticket effect. That means, if a Democrat is running for House or Senate, who would they rather be seen campaigning with?

I can't help you.

Your vote. Your choice. Your responsibility.

If you want to help put the Democratic nominee in the White House, then you will vote for the Democratic nominee.

If you do not want to vote for the Democratic nominee, then you are not a democrat.

This isn't advanced calculus.

He would like to explore diplomacy. She is throwing around words like "obliterate".

Point Obama.

Case in point, Bosnia. Obama had his pastor put in the media almost 24/7 for a long time and he confronted the whole problem with class. He also apparently wants to change politics in Washington and is leading by example..by letting the public support his campaign instead of lobbyists. He and Russ Feingold are the only 2 politicians who I've seen in my whole voting life of 40+ years who have lead by example and with honor.

Aren't their platforms similar?

If he is the dem nominee you should vote for him because he is the dem nominee and you don't want a republican to have control of the white house.

Also, a biggie for me is his knowledge of and respect for the constitution, the rule of law. He is against torture (in all forms). Has hillary ever come out and condemned the extraordinary renditions? Obama has.

...in a positive way.


We like to TALK about Democracy around the world, but our ACTIONS speak louder than our words. We've had a Bush or Clinton on one of our tickets for each of the past 7 elections.

28 years of oligarchy.... while we SAY we're promoting democracy elsewhere.



The day that a half-black man named "Barack Hussein Obama" takes the oath of office, the entire world will say in unison:

"Holy shit! Maybe America really *IS* a beacon of democracy. Maybe we SHOULD try to emulate them. Maybe there *IS* hope in this world."


All that happens the minute he swears to "uphold the Constitution" in front of a world audience.




Then... when you figure in how talented and engaging he is.... how he is *RIGHT* on all the issues that matter to the world.... well then.... we're looking at something special.



But you, of course, don't see it that way.... otherwise, you'd already be in our camp.

if she ends up with the nomination. Because she would be better than McCain. Kucinich would have been better than all of them.

A straight answer to a straight question. Although it's probably not good enough for you is it?

Obama and Clinton are very similar on the issues -- she's said so herself. He's undeniably smart and the success of his campaign demonstrates that he can pick capable people and listen to them.

Well, here's the biggest reasons I'd ask you to consider:

The Iraq War. The Supreme Court. Iran. Healthcare...Obama's plan isn't great, but it's better than anything McCain will offer. The environment.
Many other issues.
If you're not into Obama, think of it more as voting AGAINST McCain.
I'm not sure how to sell him to you. What are your biggest concerns with him? I can try to answer them, but I don't know that I can convince you, since your mind seems pretty made up.

I respect you. We have debated before.

It's not a matter if you will vote for Obama at this point. It's a matter if you'll vote for McCain.

I have no dog in this hunt...I'm Canadian. If you are looking for a reason why you should vote for the democrat, please think of your neighbours up north. We have seen the US government harrass and harangue the Canadian government to get what it wants. For example, Canada wanted to relax its marijuana laws...perhaps, even, decriminalize it. The US gov't. immediately went into overdrive and made it clear to Canada that there would be more searches and more trouble at border crossings. In the long run, decriminalizing marijuana isn't a big deal but it is one of many examples of US thuggery directed towards Canada.

Another reason is the respect of the world. Do you know how much the rest of the world will hate the US if you elect a man who sung bomb bomb iran on national television? We could accept you elected bush once...twice, we got a bit miffed. If you voted for mcbush, the world will dislike you (not personally) intensely.

Still another reason is you are smarter than to let your disappointment about Clinton cloud your judgement. You seem to be a good person. I think most Clinton supporters are. Politics can be incredibly emotional. But, when all is said and done, do you really want a man who has vowed to appoint more justices like Alito and Scalia onto the Supreme Court? I don't think you do.

There are many, many reasons to vote for Obama over McCain. Too numerous to name. The main reason I think you should--the world, especially Canada, will LOVE you. Please no more republicans. Hey, you elect Obama and we will get Harper out of office..how about it? :)

Your mind is already made up... now you're just trolling for an arguement.

It's not up to anyone here to give you a reason to vote for one or the other. It is up to the campaigns to do so (along with you doing your homework) after all, it is the candidate that is applying for the position so they need to sell you on why they would be the best choice. If you believe BO is the best choice vote for him, if you believe HRC is the best choice vote for her. If there is someone else on the ballot that you prefer, then vote for them. I voted in February and cannot again until November, I will vote for the nominee (actually a straight Democratic ticket). I have my preference of the two, but I have already cast my primary ballot and exercised my choice.


:toast:

and her first elected office was as the President of the Young Republicans Club at her alma mater, Wellesley College. I don't really believe she's changed very much in terms of her core political ideology. Plus she's Machiavellian in her style to boot. We don't need anymore of that bullshit. She's no progressive. I'm not saying Obama is a true progressive, although I think he has more of a potential to really give traction to progressive change in a way Clinton couldn't.

Dennis Kucinich has great policies. He will never be President. And even if by some miracle he is defaulted the position, he will get little done.

Because like or not in politics and in business charisma matters. The ability to inspire people, to bargain with people, to make people see your way is almost if not more important than having the right policy in the first place.

No one doubts Hillary's grasp of policy. What they doubt is her ability to get anything done with it. She had a great Health Care policy and a Democratic Congress in 1992, and still managed to get absolutely nowhere with it (and indeed, set it back for decades) because she had no idea how to inspire people to take a chance on something so radical, to build a groundswell of support behind it, to assemble a coalition of Congresspeople and the popular sentiment to support it and actually push it through.

I doubt she would have any hope of even getting her silly Gas Tax through, and that is peanuts compared to HealthCare or ending the war.

And she still doesn't know how to do that. This campaign is "Exhibit B: How to squander a 30+% lead in the national vote, the media support, every major Elite Dems backing and a massive bankroll to lose to a relatively unknown 1st term junior Senator." She simply doesn't have the appeal, the trust factor, the ability to make people want to take a stand that Obama has demonstrated.

The fact is outside of the Clinton base, there is no support for her. The Clinton's have made enemies up and down the political line for decades. The Republican politicians despise her if for no other reason because their base demands they do.

Not saying Obama does have huge cross-party support, but he has the ability to create it. You just don't manufacture 1.5 million donors with pretty speeches. You do it by being able to inspire, to see a different viewpoint, to instigate action.

To lead.

And isn't that what we ultimately want from our President?

That's the crux for me. Hillary is ultimately not a leader. She may be smart. She may know policy inside and out. But she is not someone who, as Tom Landry the old coach of the Cowboys once put it "gets people to do what they don't want to do in order to succeed." Because that is Leadership.

You may disagree and that's fine, but there is the main point for me.

When he went to the party bosses, and told them he wanted to run, they told him it's too soon how do we know you are ready.
He said the way I run my campaign will be all the proof you need to know that I am ready.

so did he?

He has raised more money than any candidate in American History
How.
1.5 million small donors
He has a practically an endless supply of money.
He has gotten more people envolved in working for a campaign on volunteer basis than anyone
How brilliant getting people to make calls from home, for a stay at home mom like me that was a great way to get involved without having to find a babysitter

Their is a volunteer movement starting state to state by people who were inspired by his words.

Even when they through everything at him, he remained calm cool and collected, they say that weakness I say that's his greatest strength, controlling your emotion is something a lot of humans never learned to do.

His willingness to talk to our "enemies" to find a peaceful resolution to end this war, instead of just wanting to send more ammunition.

He is not afraid to go against the popular idea, not for vote but to go with what right
i.e. against the war, against the gas tax holiday just to "get votes"

He is Honest, and not afraid to admit a mistake, this current administration will never admit they sent 4055 soldiers to die based on a lie.

HE LOVES HIS WIFE, I can't tell you how beautiful it is to see a man still look at his wife like it's the first day the fell in love, mushy I know, but they are cute together. and put their relationship next to a man who calls his wife a "c-nt".

And most of all Hillary, the MSM, McCain, and 529 groups through everything at him, and he prevailed.

Ok that's all for now. I will be releasing my Why I support Obama book electronically next week for 19.95

She is vulnerable to McCain for a number of reasons. SHe runs on "experience," an area where on the surface McCain's credentials are stronger. The sniper fire incident makes her particularly vulnerable to a candidate known primarily for his POW status. The ads that come from this would be like Swiftboat ads, except that these would not be based on lies. Clinton has said so many nice things about McCain that later attacks on his qualifications would be weakened.

If HRC were selected by the Party over Obama, who has been selected by the People, imagine the impact on the motivation for young and African American voters. Consider the AA experience in the last 2 presidential elections -- Florida and Ohio and elsewhere - intimidation, suppression, illegal voter roll purges, under-resourced polling places.... If you a black American citizen and you are aware of this experience, how would you feel if the white former first lady were chosen by your own party over the charismatic mixed race guy who was doing better? You might determine that your participation in the political process was not really that welcome after all. I would not be sour grapes; it would be an observation of a political reality that's been demonstrated again and again. I feel that it is important to elect the candidate who motivated the young, the first-time voters, and the people of color; and this has great implications down-ticket. Let's choose the one whose very face sends a message to the world that the Bush regime is over. The one whose rhetoric is intellectual yet not aloof, commandingly delivered humble. The candidate who inspires us to join in this shared enterprise of shaping the character of America.

2) if you want a non hostile response try to not use offensive language to begin with and try not to start off with a passive-aggressive attack.

You would vote against Obama and for McCain? What on earth did you mean by "I have never in my life voted against a Demo cat, I don't want to now."? If you are that wrapped up in GDP idiocy you really need to step away from the computer and think about what the big picture is here.

Policy-wise there is not a lot of difference between Obama and Clinton. They are both centrist Democrats. Neither of them was my first choice. When my candidates failed, Obama was my third choice over Clinton. Why? two reasons: the IWR vote and my aversion to dynastic candidates. Since then, the more I have learned about Obama, the more I think he really does represent a break from the establishment, he really does represent our hope for change. In particular I was floored by the intelligence demonstrated by his first speech on the idiotic racist pastorbating Wright non-issue. That was a great essay about our America and who we are as a people. Finally, Clinton's awful zombie campaign since her defeat on super tuesday has confirmed the validity of my choice between these two.

No his ideas are NOT perfect. Yet his platform is one committing to change.

One of his ideas was the working of health care reform. A big table with cameras on it where the basic details of the bills could be worked out on life and archived TV without the mess involved. This will mean that assholes that try to poison the process will be exposed.

Obama is willing to tell hard truths like the one that our mission in Iraq was a failure and that the climate issue will require enormous amounts of work.

His platform stated that he wants his presidency to be OUR presidency and not to the benefit of the lobbyists. If he strays from that we need to protest and say loud our disapproval before the republicans do. Therefore it will be harder for him to screw up.

This is a side issue but it is one important to me. I believe Obama's shunning of lobbyists will finally give us the chance to implement a new space policy that actually means something rather than to the benefit of those who want contracts. The Bush era ARES program was a failure in my view and needs to be replaced. The best chance to get to the moon now is with a grassroots space effort called DIRECT http://www.directlauncher.com/ Obama is the best chance for that to happen in my view.


-----------------------

Mags if you can't find a reason to support Obama may I suggest working on the congressional races instead? I would much rather you find use helping the various congressional races than sadly support Obama. If so I hope you will find the ability to hold your nose and vote for him in November.

If we are to get our Constitution back I think that he has the stuff to do it. Good luck to you. I had my candidate taken out early in the race. I think you will find a home here. I did. Peace and love, Kim

Even more so, you should vote for him over her because Hillary Clinton supported NAFTA (I'm old enough to remember this personally), Bill passed (it's his experience she's running on) the Telecommunications Act of 1996 which made it possible for media consolidation which has caused problems with us getting actual NEWS, because she voted for the Iraq war authorization, because she stood side by side with Bill Frist trying to talk the American people into thinking that the V-Chip inserted into PEOPLE with their medical records (and of course anything else that the government wishes) (those are like the chips we now insert into our pets. Because it was the Clinton administration that allowed drug testing at work for no good reason.

There's more, but that should give you a little bit to consider.

if you need to know anything else, then your values are less important than less serious considerations.

you don't need to "fall" to vote for the Democrat over the Republican. unless perhaps you aren't really a Democrat.

the President appoints

... Cabinet Secretaries for the following Executive Branch departments

Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Education
Department of Energy
Department of Health & Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Housing & Urban Development
Department of Justice
Department of Labor
Department of State
Department of The Interior
Department of Transportation
Department of Veterans Affairs
Department of the Treasury

... candidates for the following Judicial Branch positions

Court of Appeals for Veterans' Claims
Federal Judicial Center
Superior Court Judges
U.S. Circuit Court Judges
U.S. Claims Court Judges
U.S. Court of International Trade Judges
U.S. District Court Judges
U.S. Supreme Court Judges
Territorial Courts
Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Court of International Trade
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Tax Court
United States Bankruptcy Courts
United States Courts of Appeals
United States District Courts
United States Sentencing Commission

... the heads of the following Regulatory Agencies

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Consumer Product Safety Commission
Drug Enforcement Administration
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Federal Communications Commission
Federal Election Commission
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Labor Relations Authority
Federal Trade Commission
Food & Drug Administration
Occupational Health & Safety Administration
Securities & Exchange Commission
(just to name a few--there are way more "smaller" agencies that still have a big impact in the areas they regulate)

None of us who love this country can afford to flounce off in a snit if our preferred candidate doesn't get the nomination. Even if you don't just love Obama, do you really want McCain filling all these positions?

Kucinich to something like the Department of Health & Human Services, or the FCC.

Although it depends on whether you are talking about the Primaries or the GE. I assume you mean the GE?

As you asked a very sincere question, one in which I see absolutely no hostility or baiting into argument, I'm not going to give you an Obama v. Clinton-style response because that would tend to look as though I were insulting Hillary when actually I wouldn't be (but I want to give you a nice, heartfelt response which is absolutely devoid of "my guy is awesome and yours sucks"-style crap).

1. I was very, very impressed with Obama's response on the gas tax thing. I know, you might think he did it just to counter Hillary (and heck, that might be partially true, I don't know), but lemme offer a different take on it. With gas prices where they are, I think most of us would agree that any politician who stood against anything that could be viewed (however wrongly) as a "break" would be committing suicide. But Obama stood on what I believe to be principle inasmuch as he believes the idea would effectively cause more harm than good (whether he's correct or not is not my argument even though I happen to think he is correct. I'm arguing that he stood on principle).

Think of it this way: For any politician to stand out of principle is a rare thing lately. Usually, stances taken - like that of pretty much the entire Republican Party - are out of partisan ideology, not principle. It's what McCain was originally credited for when he came out against Bush's awful tax cuts (and in my view why his poll numbers are stagnant right now owing to his flip-flop on that issue). So while McCain panders to the right on the tax cuts, my opinion is that his poll numbers haven't risen - despite the length of the Dem primary and the resulting lack in concentrated attacks on him - directly because he's now being viewed as a flip-flopping panderer of the highest order.

2. I liked his response to the Wright fiasco. Did he make some mistakes? You bet! I'm not arguing the dude's perfect. But I think he showed a lot of composure by responding at length to the many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many (sorry!) interviews and questions on the subject; I didn't see him react as "eff you, I'm tired of this" or anything of the sort. I thought he spoke eloquently and forcefully about a negative thing (Wright), and thus has a lot of potential to counter the attacks that Republicans will submit either Democrat to in the fall.

3. I for one agree with his stance on Iraq, and I'm not just talking about the "getting us out" part. I'm also referring to the "measured withdrawal" arguments he's made, ones in which he admits that getting out isn't as simple as just turning the Humvee around and heading for Kuwait; he admits that as circumstances on the ground change he'll have to adjust his policy accordingly. (in truth he and Hillary are very similar on this one, but I'm just pointing out that I like both of their positions on that very compelling issue)

4. I like that his record is judged as "very liberal." It's been too damn long in this country that we've not had a liberal leader. I don't think he'll have a hard time if attacked on that issue owing to the way he responded to the Wright attacks and because of his opponent (McCain) being a flip-flopping "no-one-knows-how-to-use-his-record-as-a-predictor-because-he's-on-a-different-side-every-day" kind of guy.

5. In pure Machiavellian terms, I like his wife (ok you got me, in me-being-a-guy terms also ... half-kidding). I know, how superficial. But my point is that I can "picture" Michelle as a First Lady whereas I can't see Cindy McCain as one; the latter is a vicious looking woman whom I'm not even sure can speak (at least I haven't heard word #1 from her). And since Americans are so damn fickle when it comes to picking a president - the ease with which one can envisage "having beers" with them being but one such superficial "asset"; the other being looks - I think it's a practical asset, if not an entirely superficial and vapid one.

6. I'm an admirer of his calmness under pressure. During each debate it appeared to me as though the more heated things got between the candidates - and more pointed the questions became from the moderators - the more calmly he reacted. It's that kind of calmness under pressure that's sorely lacking in our government today judging by Bush's many utterly insane comments such as "bring it on" and the many rest (of course when speaking of Bush it's hard to distinguish between a lack of calmness and just pure stupidity, but I digress). If Obama reacts to pressure filled situations the way he's shown a pattern of doing, then at least we'll have a smart, calm dude making very serious decisions.

7. I like his substance. I know, lots of folks chide him for a lack of substance but I wholly disagree. If you look at his specific policy proposals on his website, they're far from "pie in the sky" dreams; they're actually quite specific. The bulk of the weight behind the charge which paints him as unspecific relies on his speeches, suggesting that his speeches are mere words. Problem with that is most politicians' speeches are unspecific and meant to uplift the people listening to them; if he's better at doing that than John McCain that doesn't mean he's less specific. Hell, comparing Obama's policy prescriptions from his policy speeches and his website with the same from McCain entirely voids that argument (if one is comparing the two to one another); McCain couldn't be any less specific if all he were to say was "Friends. Reagan. War. I don't know anything about the economy. 100 years in Iraq." Oh wait, that IS all he says ....

8. I like the volume of attacks he's levied against McCain in this primary process. I mean let's admit that the primary process has been kinda brutal, but he's still managed lots and lots of time to devote his attention to McCain. I like that.

9. I like that he grew up as a poor kid, had college loans which he only recently paid off, and isn't exorbitantly rich. It makes him seem more "of the people," and will definitely be an asset (presuming he plays it correctly) to him in the fall against the McCain and wife beer enterprise. With the economy where it is, I just don't believe people will buy into the "elitist" crap (and let's be honest: that's purely just crap considering Obama's background). In fact I think he should turn that charge on its head and redirect it at McCain.

10. I like his ability to work with Republicans. No, I'm not saying we need to buckle to Republicans. I'm saying, though, that it's unlikely (although not impossible) that we'll get to 60 votes in the Senate, and as a result no matter who's president they'll have to work across the aisle to get stuff done. Am I implying that he's a miracle worker and that once he's elected the Republicans will - out of some talismanic impetus - suddenly vote in lock-step with him to end the Iraq War? Hell no; there will still be battles. I'm just saying that he does have a record of working with them, and we can't expect any Democrat to get good legislation through the Senate without being able to cajole a few Republican votes.

11. And finally (and most importantly): I firmly believe in the policy prescriptions he's laid out for our country. I wouldn't vote for any candidate - even if they had all preceding 10 reasons I've provided - without this final and most crucial component. And, after all, shouldn't an election for any office be based on the policies of the candidates? I think so.




So there you have it. My reasons for liking Obama (the ones which don't compare Obama to Hillary). I hope any or all of them help you. If not, sorry: They're important to me but I can see how someone else might not be influenced.

Rather than focus on Obama, focus on what happens if McCain is the winner:

If you have a daughter, niece, loved one, do you want to go back to the coat hanger/back room days?
If you have a son, nephew/loved one, do you want them to go to war for a lie?

Do you want your mother/father/husband/wife/son/daughter/loved one dying from lack of adequate healthcare?
Do you want to risk losing all you have/your loved ones have because they can't afford to pay the bill for any healthcare they did receive?
Do you want your or your loved ones jobs to continue to be outsourced?

If the answer is no to any or all of these, then, imo, then there is NO question of voting against a Democratic nominee, period.

I'll write her name on the ballot if i have to.

I never fell for Kerry, Gore or Clinton

Why do you need to be gaga. POTUS is nothing but a veto pen & a bully pulpit.

Congress is where change happens

I am one of the "latte liberals" for lack of better terminology. My husband and I are high income, highly educated, and we even drive Subarus. But we do not do this to be trendy or part of a cult. I grew up in the midwest, with a father who worked in a steel mill. He was in a union, and I remember my parents explaining what the "union" was when I was five and helped them paint strike signs. My dad was also a disabled veteran, so I saw first hand what it is like to sacrifice for this country, and what it really means to be a patriot. Hint - it has nothing to do with lapel pins. In fact, my dad's arthritic hands wouldn't be able to maneuver a pin, but he has sacrificed more for this country than George Bush could ever imagine doing. Despite being high-school graduates working in factories, they my parents encouraged me to do whatever I wanted - even though they knew it might take me away from home (and it did - I wound up living across the country). When I was growing up in that small town I really believed I could grow up to be president. I believed that if people worked hard enough the sky was the limit. I even voted for Reagan and Bush I, but as I got into the working world and traveled it became painfully obvious to me that my parents were right about dems vs. republicans. To put it simply, republicans are greedy.

Now I am in my 40's with 2 small children (having focused on my career first and marrying later). I've voted democratic in every election since 1992 and will continue to do so. I know that my taxes will be much higher when I do but that's ok. I actually had the chance to get out and do what I wanted with my life, and my own children will have even more paths open to them. But there are many children out there who don't have much of a chance. With a republican in office they are lucky if they get their hot lunch paid for (ketchup a vegetable? Okay...). I'd like to think that those extra taxes I pay might be going towards free pre-K, more arts programs, lower interest rates for student loans, etc... Seeing billions of dollars going to corporate ceo's and war instead just makes my head spin.

That is really what it comes down to for me, Mags. Others will tell you about the supreme court (and that's important), and other policy reasons to vote democratic. Others will tell you how Obama inspires them (and he does inspire me the same way). But what I will say is that even if you don't like the man, and you worry that it's more style than substance, remember that he is Harvard educated, a Chicago law professor, and more importantly he is full of heart. He wants to do right by people, and give kids in this country a chance again. That versus 100 years in Iraq. Please try to give him a chance.

I imagine this is way more of an overkill of an answer than you want, but I wrote this a while back in response to a similar question; so I thought I would repost it here. It's a bit dated; but other than perhaps having even more reasons since the time I wrote this that have brought about a deeper intensity and resolve to support Obama, my rationale remains the same.
____

If people expect miracles in any candidate, then they are being foolish. This country has far too many problems now that any one person can fix overnight -- or even in one term. The damage that Bush has done is just about incomprehensible that he could screw up things in every category you can think of. It will be a series of baby steps, but at least steps moving in the right direction.

The reason I am totally committed to Obama is I believe he has the freshness and the vision to at least begin turning this ship around. I believe he has exhibited character and integrity that it's so very obvious that Hillary does not have. I lived through the Clinton years. Scandal after scandal, and I defended the Clintons. Hillary has not shown herself as a leader even once. She rides on her husband's coattails. She hasn't been able to run a campaign. She hasn't been able to manage her funds. She's shown more personalities than Sybil (multipersonality character) and none of them come across as sincere. She cries or whines when she can pull off playing the victim. She lies over and over again or goes vindictive.. This is NOT what I want in a leader, to be our commander in chief, to be our No. 1 ambassador to the world. I'm not trying to be mean. These are my perceptions of objective observations.

McCain is a blithering fool and will just continue us going the same direction we've been going. I don't need to waste time explaining why I don't want him to win.

I want a president who we can all be proud of when they address the country, or other world leaders, proud in his stature and composure of himself, his integrity, his intelligence. The way his campaign has been run is a good start to see what kind of leader he is and will be. No matter what Hillary has thrown at him, he still has tried to compliment her and others who are out to "get him." Look at how far he's come from the beginning! Look how he draws people to him. He has a magnetic personality and eloquence that will make a difference when he is dealing with world leaders about all the affairs of our nation and the world. Think about this -- the Clintons are THE powerhouse of the Dem party! And look at the race he's given them! Who else could have done that! I firmly believe the elite, the media all had Hillary picked and primed to be their candidate, and now here comes Barack -- and they're all in a panic. I didn't need Gov Richardson to point out to me that he's special, something that comes along only once in a lifetime.

I have great confidence that he will help to begin mending some of the left/right hatred that has grown to a level that I've never seen before. He's been criticized for giving accolades to Republicans, but I think that's a good thing. We all have to live on this planet together. It's time for the hate to stop. At least to make a beginning.

Look at the achievements he's gained already -- state legislator, professor of the Constitution! -- that's a good one! He even knows what the Constitution says! Imagine that! He has promised to rescind all the executive orders that have been issued by Bush if they even come close to not being constitutional - i.e., restore our Habias Corpus, civil rights, etc. Has Hillary said that -- even thought of it?

Those are some of the main things. To get into the church controversy is too much to get into here. But I do think it's time we talk openly about race. Who else could have had the leadership to open that dialog??? I am white, over 60, and lived in the south all my life. I've seen the ugliness of segregation and racial hate on both sides. Racism is still very much alive today - only it's not politically correct to talk about it. Opening up dialog is a way to begin a healing in this country -- "begin" being the key word. no, not wave a magic wand and everything will be fixed. To have that kind of expectation is nothing more than childish foolishness.

I'm afraid of what will happen to this country if we DON'T elect Obama as our president. It's more critical now than ever before! The urgency is indeed upon us! If we don't, we will continue on as we have, and nothing will change except our great nation will keep getting deeper and deeper into dispare. We may never have this chance again to at least give him a chance. The worst that can happen is we'll continue on like we've been doing; but we'll most certainly do that anyway.

Well, I hope this at least gives you -- and anybody else who reads it -- a little food for thought -- that is if anybody reads it.

I just wanted to sorta expand on one thing you said about Bush relating to how incomprehensible it is that a single guy could possibly screw up so many things. I've always called him the reverse Midas King; I think it rings true for two reasons. First, he thinks he's a damn king judging by his shredding of the Constitution. Second, if someone can possibly name one thing he's done in his presidency that's been a "win" for the American people then I'll rescind my comment. Barring that he'll remain the reverse Midas King in my eyes: Everything he touches turns to poop.

From Barack:
I'm asking you to believe, Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington...I'm asking you to believe in yours.

The Obama Movement is real, alive and ready to straighten some important stuff out... and we know we're going to have stand up....for a long time...to see things change.

But..you know many of us are...well.."We're mad as hell and we're just not going to take it anymore"...

Everyone wants to argue about all the specifics of which national healthcare plan proposal is best...Hear Me Folks...WE DON'T HAVE NATIONAL HEALTHCARE...

When we get it...whatever it looks like...everyone..everyone...everyone will be covered....OR ELSE! - We're more organized than ever before...Thousands participate in his listservs.. Our voice is being heard...because we're scrappy and kinda loud..and we're just not going away.

So you may not choose to switch now....but I think...you will join us eventually..

We're in this to Take Our Country Back and return it to the days when it was a respected "Beacon of Hope" in the World...and we're just not going to give up...

my guess is..you want those things too!

So you wanna hop on board...There's room...right here..next to me...I'll save you a spot

I am hardly new at this (the first GE I recall is McGovern/Nixon), and I am backing Obama because he has shown every indication of being able to win back the WH.

The issues are all in line whether one backs Hillary or Obama, but Obama can clearly win. I know this is contrary to the HRC "party line", but I have every reason to believe it is the case, including all of the primary results to date, and it is the reason I am an Obama supporter.

a very diplomatic, skilled and charismatic politician--he will win people over and get things done as President. He is, at heart, a patriotic, kind, and decent soul. He's also as much a fighter as Hillary--and a far better manager of his campaign than she was of hers. He's proven to be resilient, very competent in all facets of campaigning, able to inspire a million and a half people to open up their checkbooks, able to rock a stadium and impress small town-hall-meeting audiences equally well, and is cool under fire. What more do ya want?

womens status in society. It is still theparty of the 1st woman speaker.

Hopefully, you will be convinced. If not, perhaps you simply don't want to be.

or not vote at all then live with the results. If you can't determine why you should vote Democratic in November all on your own with everything that is going on then nobody here can convince you.

On one hand you say, "why I should vote for BO and not Clinton" but on the other hand you also say, "I have never in my life voted against a Demo cat (sic), I don't want to now."

So it sounds like you're asking us to convince you that Obama is better than Clinton in order to keep you from voting for McCain if Obama is the nominee. See why that doesn't make sense? If Obama is the nominee, your choice won't be Obama v. Clinton, it will be Obama v. McCain.

So you should ask why should you vote for Obama instead of McCain. Well, it's hard to answer since I don't know what issues are most important for you. Taking one at random in the news yesterday, McCain just pledged to nominate conservative judges to the Supreme Court. John Paul Stevens will be 88 when the next President takes office, and some other judges are in their 70s. The Supreme Court's makeup now that it has Roberts and Alito pretty much means that one more conservative judge will lead to Roe v. Wade being overturned. So if you're strongly pro-choice, you should NOT vote for McCain.

Tell people what other issues are most important to you and you'll get better honed in answers.