SassyBlonde

I'd like to take a minute here to outline why I'm voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, not because I think I can necessarily change and hearts and minds at this late hour, but because win or lose, I want to remember the eve of this election and why I'm casting my lot the way I am. (And also keeping in mind that I'm following Aimee's format for Mrs. Flinger's challenge.)

1. He's Smart And He's Not Afraid To Show It.
   I love a smart man. And I love a smart man even more when he's not afraid to be smart, talk smart, and use his brain. (Say what you want about the way he carries or conducts himself, but I'll take an "elitist" former President of the Harvard Law Review any day of the week. You don't get that by being a war hero or by lining somebody's pocket-- you EARN IT.) He knows how to speak intelligently, he can carry on a debate with aplomb and thoughtful honesty and he isn't afraid to put out facts and figures on the line, no scripts or prompts.The reason this matters to me is because this man is going to be the one who helps design the plan for our future. He'll also be the one negotiates on our behalf with foreign leaders-- converses with them, spends time with them, takes them on in the vernacular fray. I want someone who can argue effectively and intelligently on our behalf without seeming like a moron or a belligerent blowhard. Tim Ferriss had it right on the money when he said "how you say something IS what you say." I want someone who is smart enough to make his case eloquently in the trenches. Moreover, I want someone who thinks through his plans to the logical outcomes a year, five years, ten years down the road, extending to even after his presidency ends, and Obama has done that in spades and laid it out time and again (see his response to McCain's healthcare plan from the last debate.)
2. He May Not BE Like Me, But He Doesn't Lie About It.
   I'm a raving fan of the Joe The Plumber video for a lot of reasons, but one of my favorites is the couple of times that Obama refers to himself as a rich guy. He's not pretending to be like the rest of us, and he's not lying about where he actually stands either. More to the point, he may be wealthy, but he doesn't flaunt it, and in the process he seems to be looking out for those of us who aren't in policy. And his wife shops at J. Crew. I know it's shallow, but seriously, it matters to me.
3. It's The Economy, Stupid. (RIP Mr. Russert, and Godspeed.)
   His tax plan makes sense almost any way I've tried to look at it. That is all.
4. The War.
   He opposes the war and had the balls to do it from the beginning, when everyone was too afraid of seeming unpatriotic to do the same. Everyone is tired of this war. Even my mother, who is staunchly in the McCain camp, admitted to me today that she's going to be glad if Obama wins because she's tired of this war and she wants it over. It's time to admit that it was a mistake and move on, with all due respect to the troops who have worked hard to make it happen. I don't want any more of their parents to have to support an idiotic policy because they need to justify why their children died for it, and it's time for us to stop putting those soldiers in harm's way for the same reason. Obama opposed the war before he was a U.S. Senator, when he didn't even have a vote yet (thanks to Aimee for the quote): "I know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors... I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a U.S. occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East, and encourage the worst, rather than the best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of al-Qaeda. I am not opposed to all wars. I'm opposed to dumb wars."
5. Health...care?
   Obama's health care reform plan makes sense, and it's workable. It won't eventually cause the unsupported collapse of the American healthcare system. And it will actually give an affordable alternative to people who need one, and will do it much MUCH more quickly than McCain's would and in a much more sustainable way.
6. He Respects My Rights And Responsibilities As A Woman.
   There are not many things that get me fired up like this one does. Yes, I like him be cause he's pro-choice, but that's not the only facet of this issue that wins him my vote: he supports comprehensive sex education and healthcare reform making contraceptive coverage more widely available. See, this comes back to him being smart: he understands that if people are properly educated and supplied, there wouldn't need to be as many unplanned pregnancies in the first place. Moreover, he gets that that is the kid of decision that should be made in private in consultation with your partner, your doctor and your chosen deity, and he has the guts to say exactly that succinctly and in a straightforward manner, for which I give him extreme respect.
7. Civil Rights. For Everyone. EVERYONE.
   While he makes a distinction between a religiously sanctioned marriage and gay civil marriage, he supports the rights of EVERYONE to have a legally sanctioned partnership with equal rights across the board, including adoption and the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell. Everyone should have the right to be with the one they love, raise a family, and have all the rights and priveleges of a committed relationship, whether it's Adam and Eve or Adam and Steve or Alice and Ellen. Just ask this lovely pair. (Congratulations Frank!!!!!!!!!!)
8. Experience: He Has The Kind That Matters.
   Having lived in D.C. as long as I already have, I can pretty much tell you that if you have to choose between an idealist and a career man in politics, the idealist should always be your first choice. I don't believe that having worked in Washington or in any specific executive position necessarily makes you a better presidential candidate. What I DO believe matters is how you've spent your time, patience and intelligent work before you get to that point. Did you spend it on the ground, working to make things better for the everyday man on the street? The AIDs victim? The disenfranchised? The environment? Good. Did you spend it in Washington "opposing" the bigwigs while eating lunch with them? Not so good.
9. The Death Factor
   I'm not going to lie, I think no matter who gets elected I think we have a damn good chance of something happening to one of them while in office, and it scares the hell out of me and I think someone should be saying this rationally. If McCain kicks it, we get the crazy lady. If something (oh deities and saints and fates and The Spaghetti Monster may it not be so) happens to Obama, we get Biden. Vanilla, but all right and a damn sight better backup plan. I know this is not necessarily position based, but the presidency is a hard job and I'm tired of being scared of what would happen if the CIC makes an exit (oh my GOD, only a couple more months of Cheney fear. Oy.)
10. Green In All The Right Ways.
    $150 billion for alternative fuels, lower LCFS carbon standards, a good thinking position on nuclear power, and a smart opinion on the gas tax (I love a man who can admit his mistakes and learn from them.) I want a planet to live on when I'm 80. That's the long and short of it.
11. Shame, Or Rather The Lack Thereof.
    Lastly and most importantly in some ways, I want a man I can be proud of to be president. The last two presidents have found ways upon ways to make me want to die of shame for being an American with that guys as my leader, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I'm tired of going out of this country and having to apologize to people I meet for the way we relate to the rest of the world. I'm tired of watching out leader give speeches and being angry because he sounds like an ignorant, flippant moron when I know he's actually pretty intelligent in there somewhere. I'm tired of leaders who make unilateral decisions that take international moral authority and clout away from our foreign policy. And I'm tired of being depressed when I watch the political news, which is all we get around here pretty much.
    
    Barack Obama gives me hope that we can be better than we have been, and that the government CAN be made to be accountable and take care of us the way it should if we all wake up and start paying attention and working toward that goal. Not only does he preach a message of hope, but he makes me believe it by backing it up. That's the long and short of it: he gives me HOPE. And I'll cast my ballot for that any day.

That being said, in a few hours it will be the day that everyone's been waiting for, for one reason or another. Whoever your chosen candidate is, GO VOTE.

Go in the rain. Go if you have to stand in line for three hours. Go if you have to take your kids with you. Go if you have to miss work. There is nothing more important for our country than exercising your right to choose who leads it, so GO. DO IT ALREADY.