Many have said recently: "It is good to hear from you why we should not vote for McCain. But this is not enough for us to vote for Barack. Tell us why we have to support Barack in GE, instead of keeping on trying to make us not vote for McCain."

I have heard you, folks. Heard you. But, sadly enough, I am not an expert in politics. This will be my third participation in the general elections, which means I don't have yet much experience in supporting/advocating a candidate. In fact, in the past two elections, I was just a university student watching the campaigns from a safe distance.

Why it is different in this election period? That's must be because Barack has somehow been able to mobilize many like me into the politics to some extent. Otherwise, I am not a election guy. I am not one of those who believe that this country could be straightened up through politics conducted from the top. But I feel, this time, the fierce urgency of now. And with Barack, for the first time, I have the faint anticipation of a change from bottom up. A change conducted by "We, The People."

Barack gave millions that very opportunity and anticipation: That you might be an active agent of change in this country... That you might do something constructive for yourself, your family, your neighbourhood, your city, your state, your country and for the whole people that you share a planet.

For the first time, with Barack, people young and old, white and black, rich and poor, have the unique opportunity of gathering aroung a common cause of hope, instead of a common cause of fear.

For the first time, with Barack, people feel responsible not only for themselves and their personal interests, but also for the children, women and men in Iraq, in Israel, in Palestine, in Somalia, in Ethiopia, in Georgia, in Cambodia, in India, in Pakistan, in Afghanistan.

For the first time, with Barack, the American people feel connected with the world around themselves; with the world, with the nature, with the natural sources and other creatures that they have long forgotten to live in harmony.

Barack mobilized many, including me. These people are not experts in politics; they don't know the dirty game of politics. They just believe strongly and hope sincerily.

That's why this campaign has been so successful, so convincing and so formidable. Because people who believe in Barack participate this movement with all their heart, all their good will. They are not in a machine like Clinton's, not in a lobbyist-swarmed platform like McCain's. Most of them are interested in politics only after Barack showed them a way of changing this country for the better.

Many of us feel instinctively that Barack's change promise is not an empty rhetoric, in spite of the very fact that these concepts, such as change, hope, dream, are mostly considered as cheap baits for the voters. Somehow, Barack have convinced us that change is imminent, hope is real and dream is true.

Change: Maybe it was a real empty rhetoric forty years ago. Forty years ago, you would have to cling to the mainstream, to the established, to what was already decided. But time has changed a lot and now it is mature for a real change. Because America is a different country now. We are a more diverse country. Minorities have been actively taking part in every possible phase of public life. It is not a WASP country anymore. It is a diverse country. America is no longer a Judao-Christian country. All is mature for a change-- a drastic, deep and lasting change. America and the American Dream are most commonly shared by the minorities: There are two Muslims in the Congress -- more coming soon. Administrations are more diverse; take Bush administration for example.

Barack seems to have calculated the time for a change in America to the point; because America is ready for a change, even though there are many who are fearful of a transformation. The old people are mainly scared of a transformation but they have little to do: There will be no McCain, Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Armitage, Clintons in the world in the next 20-30 years. America will pass into other hands... This unprecedented resistance against change is understandable. But they are destined to fail as destiny and life's most basic rule will leave them alone: That they are old and have to leave this world.

Hope: If there's change, there's lots of hope around. Barack's campaign is heavily powered by hope. This hope have made people donate and participate and give Barack enough ammunition in the face of his strong rivals. But hope cannot be measured. It can only be felt.

Dream: A common dream called the American Dream... Dream for everyone. A dream that can be shared and augmented not only by the few in the top, but by the millions and millions in the bottom. Barack has revitalized this dream and mada it a common one for the men in the street. A dream that is not shared not only by the elitist McCain and his lobbyists but by the common men like Barack himself. Because Barack's his own story is a shining promise to the ordinary people.

Maybe you want to hear something more concrete. Well, there's enough out there; you can easily find both pros and cons. Time will show us which of us is right. Six months to go. You can ridicule, belittle, despise this movement. You are free to do so. Sure there will be people like me who play by the Clinton's, McCain's book. There's no harm in doing so. At the same time, there's no harm in your love or hate for Barack. America has been undergoing a major transformation right now. Some will like it. Some won't. Some will cling to the old rules and old faces. Some will run towards the freshness. But America shall change whatever happens. Because change that many despise has already begun.

Barack changed America. And we are living witnesses of this great moment.

My God man, you just said yesterday that you're not a doe-eyed Obamabot and now this nonsense?

Since this is only your third election I'll give you that.

This one I'll have to ask you to explain.

How on Earth do you feel a connection with all God's creatures simply because a same-old-same-old type politician is coming at the campaign game from a new angle?

P.T. Barnum used to love people like that.

Nothing's changed.

Either that or he figured he'd strike while the iron was hot.

Hope in one hand, shit in the other. See which fills up first.

The real American Dream is that those people on the bottom would be pulling themselves to the top by their own hard work and efforts, not through quotas, punitive anti-business/anti-wealth legislation, and socialist polices that have already dragged under countries that were much more prepared for socialism than the United States is.

Sure the men in the street will take a hand-out if you're willing to give them one.

But teach a man to fish and all that...

Six months to go to show us that you're right about Obama winning an election?

Or to show us that Obama ushered in a sea-change in American politics that made this nation a better place for everyone?

Because the latter doesn't necessarially follow from the former.

And to be quite honest with you, I don't have your blind faith that Obama's complete lack of experience, immature political skills, questionable associations, and opinion-poll policy formation is really going to do America any favors.

Personally, I think that Obama might be the best of the worst. I'm not throughly convinced of it yet, but I'm leaning toward him. God knows that McCain and Clinton bring very little to the table. Obama might be a tiny bit better choice than either of those two, but he's not the next F.D.R. by any stretch of the imagination (unless, I suppose, it's a very vivid imagination).

__________________
...Old Europe, a once-dominant region now reduced to sucking at the geopolitical teat of America... they spent the better part of the last millennium conquering the world and taking the good stuff home with them... And what do they get for their troubles? Ungrateful colonies demanding their independence. And after you taught them how to play cricket!...

-Jon Stewart

I respect your ideas.

Any more comments?

"Change", "hope", and "dream" are what you've got as reasons to vote for Obama?

That's it?

Hitler changed Germany. Many would argue that the change was not for the better.

You say there are more "concrete" reasons out there. Well, if you're trying to tell people why they should vote for Obama, now might be a good time to break them out. "Change, hope and dream" are hardly reasons to vote for someone.

My biggest issue is illegal immigration. What's his stance on that? Is he going to do something to stop the flow of illegal aliens across our borders? How about private gun ownership? I'm a gun owner, and I want to continue to be a gun owner. It would take a compelling argument to get me to vote for someone who thinks I shouldn't be a gun owner.

You make me laugh; you really do. Time and time again, in thread after thread, after giving us all kinds of reasons why we shouldn't vote for McCain, you start a thread to answer the calls for you to give us reasons why we should vote for Obama.

So, what reasons do we get? "Change", "hope" and "dream". But you don't stop there. You then go on to tell us that there are more "concrete" reasons out there, but you don't provide a single one.

Your inexperience with elections, as you decribe, is clear. You avoid anything of substance. You continue to start threads saying why McCain is bad. But you haven't done a single thing that makes one want to vote for Obama.

"Change, hope, and dream" don't come close to be sufficient...

I'm somewhat confused by this thread.

Why did you run it?

That is: you call it "Why We Should Vote for Barack". Why? Who is "we"? You are preaching to the converted here.

You go on to say that America is passing on to "other hands".

You say "it is not a Judeo-Christian country anymore" and make references to Muslim members of congress. (How does Obama fit into this, as he is not a Muslim?)


So Obama represents a post-Judeo-Christian country?

And we should vote for him because of that?


Because he excites you?

This is all just more hysterics.

Who is this addressed to? Only the far left will read this and faint with joy as their brains turn to jelly. But they are set to vote for Obama anyway.

You Obama worshipers had better get your act together fast if you want potential McCain supporters to vote for your icon. All of this weird stuff about the destruction of the old US and the passing into other hands is manna for the shock-troops of political correctness. But that is not how national elections are won.

The Obama lovers have a heck of a lot of work to do. This stuff doesn't cut it.

__________________
"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1

Wait now, he has some solid plans.......he wants to revoke my concealed handgun permit, raise my taxes, and redistribute my wealth.

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Are you a spineless slave to political correctness?

Yes, indeed. But don't forget - he is also going to stuff us with hope!

Lots and lots of hope.

And he and the left-wing congress will do our thinking for us.

Whether we like it or not....

__________________
"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1

Edit: @ OP

"We?"

You're not American.

__________________
So many cowards.

You know who you are.

Wow pram, you are just "Joe Patriot" all over the forum today, aren't you?

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Are you a spineless slave to political correctness?

(1) And Dubya managed to mobilise the far right. I take it you didn't like Dubya. This is not a good reason. Obama runs one of the most ruthless, top down campaigns ever. It is not "bottom up". I would admire that if he wasn't so dishonest about it.

(2) That's just cultish. Many people did good in the world before the great leader arrived on the scene. Some even oppose Obama now. If you need Obama to give you that feeling you're really very passive. If you want to do good then just do it. And no, voting for Obama doesn't count.

(3) That's very vague, and you seem to be implying both that the past voters voted out of fear and that a vote against Obama is a vote against hope. Patronising.

(4) The US has always felt a sense of responsibility for other countries. It's one of its defining characteristics. Look at the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

(5) Do you really believe that Obama will connect you to the outside world, simply by virtue of being mixed race? You're acting like he's a great spiritual leader, instead of a politician. That's scary.

(6) Reading this, I am powerfully reminded of Tony Blair in 1997 and - in the charismatic way, not the genocidal way - Hitler in the 1930s. You are entitled to your political opinions, but Obama will not "fix" the US. His campaign is just as much a machine as anyone elses. The fact that you instinctively like him is only evidence of great charisma, not great leadership. You "feel instinctively" that he can do it? Um, that's not enough.

(7) The US is changing, for the better? Wonderful. But it is still a Christian country, for the record. "The US is changing, therefore Obama must win because he is different" is not an argument.

(8) This is beyond patronising. You are saying that the only opposition to Obama comes from those terrified of the wonderful change he will inevitably bring.

(9) That's very convenient. Let's not look for something measureable, he makes us feel good! Obama is not the common man. He is a middle class, privately educated, Ivy League academic and lawyer. That's fine, as it would be unfair to expect him to represent anyone but himself. Just don't act like he's exactly like everyone else, and therefore he should be president, because that's not true.

(10) This is, again, patronising. You're advocating Obama, you give concrete evidence. Opposing and disliking Obama is not "clinging to the old rules and faces". It is not opposing the changes the US is making towards being less racist, sexist etc. It is not "ridiculing, belittling and despising". Sometimes it is simply believing that he is the wrong candidate.

(11) Wow. How, exactly, has he changed the US?

The OP said "we" should vote for Barack.

Unfortunately for him, he's European. He won't be voting at all.

Not sure what your gripe is. I am sure that I don't give a shit.

Move on.

__________________
So many cowards.

You know who you are.

You think I am European?

I don't understand....

__________________
"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1

OP = original poster

That's Sheriff. He's European.

__________________
So many cowards.

You know who you are.

Wow, is he?

Interesting.

Matt

__________________

Oh - I thought you were referring to the post above yours. I see...

So he is European?

Well, whaddayaknow......Hmmmm.....

__________________
"Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety."

Macbeth 3:1